(5) Sun Jan 02 2005 21:24 PST Something to brag about: On & on I was going, about HP6 and the release party with one of the owners and a customer. He said I'd be working, and I said I'd love to, as long as I could have the day after off to read the book.
"Oh, you'll get to read it a week or two early," he said.
*agast* "Really?"
"Yes, so you can talk it up," he said (as if I wouldn't, otherwise...)

Apparently it's only illegal to *sell* books before the release date. Which surprised me! (and I'm still not 100% sure, so no one rat on us) but I was wondering how they had dressed up Thestrals (sp?) at the HP5 release party pictures and I'm on CD 9 and still haven't found out about them yet.

So yes. I get to read Harry Potter & the Half-blood Prince early. You may now be jealous of me. :)

Tue Jan 04 2005 19:42 PST Watch out world: Tonight it dedicated soley to getting organized. I'm starting with my room, then moving on to grad school applications. I reeeally hate the not-on-top-of-thing feeling, like a trainwreck waiting to happen, a wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-in-a-cold-sweat nightmare just around the corner, because, oh no, how could I have forgotten *that? Only I'll never know what *that* is until I get to the bottom of the mess on my desk.

Er, yeah....

(3) Tue Jan 04 2005 23:41 PST Whew: Now that's almost done and ready. We're getting there! Actually, tracking down all of those forms and printing them may have been the hardest part of the applications. The British sure are a lot less picky than than Americans. They don't want my GRE scores or anything (thank goodness). Most importantly, they don't want my money! (Or at least, not until I start paying tuition, that is.) But the no application fees thing is really saving the skin of my butt right now. My only expenses will be transcripts, which I'll order tomorrow, and postage!

For those who might be interested, here are the schools & programs I am applying to (in order of preference, based on courses offered).

1. MA in Modern History & Politics, Birkbeck College, University of London.
2. MA in Twentieth-century British History, Queen Mary’s College, University of London
3. MA in European History, University College London
4. MA in Modern History, King’s College London
5. MA Contemporary History, Sussex University

Wed Jan 05 2005 16:31 PST: I kept having dreams wherein I am packing hurredly for Europe. I'm sure this means something...

(1) Thu Jan 06 2005 12:03 PST My diploma: I have it! In my hot little hands! I really *have* graduated! Wheee...

Also, ordered offical transcripts for my applications, and gave reference forms to my professor/thesis advisor Dr. Berend. Stacy is taking a class of his this quarter on Eastern European History, and I was browsing her textbook (written by him) last night. There is a very praising quote on the back cover by a history professor (unfortunatley retired) at the University of London, Birkbeck College (my top choice, see the entry below). I'll take that as a good omen.

(7) Fri Jan 07 2005 21:50 PST TOPSHOPosity: The other week when I was staying at Christina's, we watched the special features to the POA DVD--not v. exciting, but anyway. I suddenly remembered a bit in the interview with the kids where Emma Watson related a story: She was in Topshop & a lady said, "That's funny, but you look just like the girl who plays Hermione," and she replied, "That's funny; I am!" It reminded me of this entry.

I think Topshop is like, the new social equalizer. You could see *anyone* at Topshop as long as you wait long enough. You could write a thesis on the themes of post-colonial deconstructionist modernity in Topshop. I could certainly write an essay on the personal significance of Topshop symbolism in my life.

And how. I am looking around my room, and rather wishing I had room enough for a crafts table, so my collage stuff wouldn't clutter up my desk so.

(1) Sat Jan 08 2005 20:21 PST Bookstore adventures.: I had been avoiding listening to my next CD of OOTp, listening to music instead, because I knew the first thing I would hear was Harry and Cho's kiss. *gag* Finally I listened to it this morning--what a way for breakfast to go down! Oh well, now that that's over we can get on to more interesting things.

Paul Royer & Sara Langley came to see me today at Russo's. We had a fun time chatting etc but I didn't have anything new to tell them since mom already told them all. Paul bought a bunch of graphic novels, and one of the managers gave him my employee discount, which I thought was nice. And I did some more pre-sales for HP6. And a women who came in looking for something we didn't have left with Confessions of a Shopaholic on my reccomendation.

The only downside is, I have been spending so much time at the bookstore by the time I am off work and back from everything I have to do I don't have energy to do anything else, such as go to my newly-joined gym, work on my Serbia stuff for research, or write my novel! I brought my grad school applications to work to try to rectify the situation a litte. But now after 8 hours of work and Major League Improv I'm soo tiiiiired, but I have to do stuff because I turned down hanging out with friends, woe, since that is what I did last night and I'm woefully behind on everything! Ahh! I guess one just does not have time for much of a social life when one is trying to do as much as I am.

I wish I could go back to working four or five hour shifts at the bookstore, or longer shifts with less days. There are lots of people who would love to have *more* hours so I don't think it would be a problem. All the same, I am sacred to ask for less hours because they might think I don't like the job or something. I'll have to make it very clear that that's not the case.

(1) Mon Jan 10 2005 15:43 PST My diploma, a closer look: Blah blah blah....With all the rights and priveileges thereto pertaining...

Rights and privileges? I get rights and privileges? I wonder what they are... If I were in pre-1945 England and it were a degree from Oxford or Cambridge, my vote would count twice, but, well... I'm not, and it isn't, more's the pity.

Fun fact: signed by Governor Schwarzenegger.

(3) Wed Jan 12 2005 16:57 PST Query: What is an appropriate thank-you for letters of reference? A card? A potted plant?

I'm at UCLA today. It seems like just everyone has their iPods on. I bet most of them are brand-new Christmas presents. I've also seem a few sexy-silver Powerbooks that may or may not be brand-new Christmas presents, and am temporarily overcome with jealousy. *Pets Dave* but he's not a Powerbook.

(2) Fri Jan 14 2005 15:15 PST Guess where I am?: Hint: I spent today at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

(2) Thu Jan 20 2005 16:44 PST This just in: NaNoWriMo part II: Coming February to a computer near you.

This way, I'll be finished in time to take part in NaNoEdMo in March. Sleep is over-rated.

More on my NYC trip later.

(2) Sat Jan 22 2005 23:03 PST What we've all been waiting for: Here are some things I did while I was in New York last week:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: There's a whole huge Egyptian temple, complete with 19th century grafitti. Nice. All sorts of cool stuff, such as armour displays, ancient Japanese scrolls, an Africa statue that looks just like demon doggie, and a huge 19th century European art section. I've become a bit jaded, actually, travelling to so many cities and going to so many museums: "Oh, look, a Monet." (Ten points to who gets the reference.) But still, it's nice to see the ones I haven't before, and I owe Madame Bousquet for teaching me all about the french artists. They're so much more interesting when you know what they were all about.

Times Square and a Broadway show: The TKTS booth in NYC is different from the one in London in the following ways: the line is much long, it is MUCH colder, and the tickets are more expensive. And by the time we go to the front, almost everything was sold out. Ended up seeing Democracy, a play about an East German spy in the West German government. It was good, but I felt rather like I was reading for class, and kind of wished I were at a musical.

Greenwich Village: Lots of nice little shops and restaurants. It might have occured to me to want to live there, had I not been so cold.

Lots of yummy food: Seriously. Sushi, Indian, pizza, even the diner food was delicious (and proportinatley more expensive).

Empire State Building (walked by but didn't go up; the wait was an hour--outside) Tiffany's (was closed), Rockafeller Center (watched ice skaters), Toys R Us in Times Square (impressive legos! Leonard would have loved), NY Public Library (if only I had more *time*--and there was a gift shop! in the library!), etc etc.

Next time I go, I hope it's not in the middle of January. I've never been so cold. Ever.

And quite a contrast to LA's annual January heat wave. I saw Phantom of the Opera last night. It was... long. You'd think they'd have cut bits out, but no. And some of the theatrics just didn't transfer well to film. Roaul was especially disappointed--it's like, they couldn't get Ewan McGregor so they just took whoever would do it for free. Other than that, good. But way, way too long.

Sun Jan 23 2005 10:51 PST Woe: I really wish I could get my school email to download.

(6) Mon Jan 24 2005 10:44 PST Ugh: I came back from making my peanut butter and jelly sandwich to find Sadie in my room (she knows she's not allowed. she knows!) and the top layer of klennex from my wastebasket gone. Where did they go? Into her stomach? Ughhhhhh.... I've never known anyone to get into so much that she isn't supposed to as she does.

Also the cat food dish has gravitated out from my room. It's empty, hello! Maybe she is trying to eat the dish. This would not surprise me.

Tue Jan 25 2005 18:45 PST Hmmmm: It suddenly occured to me that I ought to go to London to try to convince the grad schools to take me in person. I found airfare for less than $500.

And then there's the Fawcett Library, the Imperial War Museum Archives, the National Archives in Kew...

(7) Wed Jan 26 2005 11:34 PST Ohhh...Access: I really need someone who knows Access to help me out. I need to add fields in the form of an already exsisting database. I really hope that's even possible--there's like, 400 entries, and I *don't* want to have to start over. It occurs to me there might be a reason no one uses Access.

(1) Wed Jan 26 2005 22:07 PST Pictures!: Yay! My Ofoto order came. I can feel a major scrapbooking session coming on! (Susie, did you ever look at that thing I asked you about?)

Thu Jan 27 2005 09:32 PST Whew: The morning began with an hour and a half sitting in front of the computer, exchanging rapid-fire emails with at least 7 people across the Atlantic. Who knew grad school applications could be such a process when one is actually serious about it?

Fri Jan 28 2005 14:13 PST Yay: All of my application stuff is in pretty neatly labeled envelopes ready to send, minus the forms that need white-out and the references and transcripts which I am still waiting on.

(7) Sat Jan 29 2005 13:30 PST Failure: I tired to cook. I made soup and left it in the crockpot. But I have an extreme dislike of onions that is rather ridculous, and I overcompensated by putting an entire onion in the soup. It is rather onion-flavoured, blah.

(1) Sun Jan 30 2005 22:51 PST On the wrong foot, and I haven't even started yet: Meh. One day left of January. I'm not ready yet! (This is not the attitude to success.)

And: My eyes are a bit dry & hurty, as while I was on the eliptical machine at the gym today I started reading the Lady and the Unicorn by Tracey Chevalier. I'm sure it's probably not good for my eyes, but it sure does make it go by faster!