I'm a gonna be having me some free food at Faan tonight--delicious Asian fusion with heaps for portions--and seeing me some Mean Girls afterwards. I'm surprised at the 83% fresh rating.. that's pretty damn good for a teen girly movie. It also makes me tres excited to see it.

I missed him today.

Oh BTW, I think I forgot to brag about my next year's schedule.

You see, I was despairing because I was one of the last people I knew to register, and when I was trying to put together a schedule, a lot of the classes I wanted were all full, or there was only one spot left, etc. But in any case, I made several back up schedules, just in case.

The day of registering dawned, and I got all my codes out and ready to type in. When 9:30 rolled round, I was off like a greyhound in an illegal racetrack... and I got all my classes! Even the one with only one spot left! When I started cheering, Marie said, "You're done? God, that was the fastest I've ever seen someone type 'em in."

As a result, I have no classes Friday, and all my classes on start 11 AM. Hell YES.

Thank goodness I finished that paper this morning. It is rather awful, but at least, it is done!!!

Lots more work to do tonight. Work work work. Dear lord. Thank goodness I am playing tennis tomorrow, to let off some stress!

I was actually pretty happy today, even with the crushing burden of work I have right now. Weather really has an effect on my mood. Why else? I think I was happy to have the Great Expectations paper off my shoulders because I've been worried about it for two weeks... two loooooong weeks.

Laloolah. Ermf. That's about it.

AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I HATE WRITING THIS DAMN GREAT EXPECTATIONS PAPER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday I took place in the great showdown that will henceforth be known as the Rubin Spelling Bee. Tongue trips were made, and sweat was rampant, but I emerged the triumphant second place winner!

Yeah, I'm actually pretty angry at myself for misspelling "aerolithology." Erg.

But I have a $25 gift certificate to the NYU Bookstore, so hip hip hurrah!

I am drinking apricot Yoga from Italy. It's rather delicious.

Listening to Coldplay again after a hiatus, hurrah.

I am very happy.

Perfect weather! I realize that I do gush much about the weather, but you must realize: I am from Minnesota and I am in mild weather in APRIL. Back home right now it is usually blizzarding. Okay, I am exaggerating, but only slightly. Today I was able to wear a skirt again.. lalalala. There is something so liberating about a skirt.

Update: Apparently the stuff about Jennifer Garner (see the post from today at 2:20 p.m.) is true! A friend of mine who goes to Denison:

"That interview with Garner was for real. She went here to Denison and a lot of rumors persist after her -- students whose siblings were friends with her, professors who had her in class, and starstruck individuals not unlike yourself all talk about what she was like. Apparently, she was a big "nerd". Now, before you take that out of context, you have to realize, a person is a nerd at Denison if they spend more time studying in the library than they do partying. I hear Jennifer was very enthusiastic about theater -- she was in the plays and she read many in her spare time or something. So I imagine that yes, she was in the library a lot at Denison. Alas, how I wish there were Jennifer Garners going here now... as you would say, "le sigh"."

Wheeeee!

Oh yes, and sometimes I have regrets for skipping a grade.

What brought this up?

Well, I was reading through the blogs of the seniors of my high school and I would have been SUCH the trend setter. Actually, I already am, and they just don't know it.

Case in point: Text Twist. All the seniors are obsessed with it, but who brought it to the masses? Yeah, that would be ME, last year in journalism.

2nd case in point: Blogs. Um, yeah. I've been blogging since middle school, and apparently there was a blogging frenzy that started a year or so ago.

Le sigh. Sometimes it is SO hard to be unacknowledged.

Just in case you think I'm being a snot, please imagine all the previous said in mock-snobby voice, all right?

For some delicious scandal, check out the A-List. Warning: if you're one of those who prefer blissful ignorance about celebrities, avoid this site. Of course, everything on that website ought to be taken with a grain of salt, but it really raises the question of how much of it--and Hollywood-- is true and false?

These days the American public is spun in so many different ways it's a wonder we manage to stay on our feet. The tabloids tell us that so-and-so has a cocaine problem! and is sleeping with their houseboy! and has had massive plastic surgery! Then the weekly glossies do exactly as their names imply--they gloss Hollywood over, cover it with sparkly packaging and incite envy with their endless pictures of celebrities glammed up. Between these two, how are we supposed to know the truth?

Recently I read some magazine where they interviewed Jennifer Garner and she said she loved libraries and that she was really a big band geek, and I couldn't help but love her. But a part of me kept thinking, okay, Christine, you're crazy. Just because she's in your favorite show and because she said she loves libraries (which have been your favorite place to be for so long) you can't BELIEVE her. And besides, she's a CELEBRITY. You'll never get to know her--why does it matter if you like her or not?

I told Andres about how I liked her because of this interview, and somehow we got onto the topic of other celebrities, and at some point, I mentioned the rumors of Jennifer Aniston's pot usage. Andres surprised me by shrugging his shoulders and saying, "Every celebrity does cocaine and drugs." I wasn't surprised by my own reaction, though. I merely agreed, sighed, shook my head. Such cynicism!

Even with the cheesy background music, The Princess Bride is just SO damn good! Oh, Westley, Westley, Westley.

Cary Elwes was deliciously snarky in Ella Enchanted, and in PB he is just so perfect. And Princess Buttercup is so helpless! Rawr. During the scene with the giant rat thing, she just stands there! Tsk tsk. I'm watching it now, so forgive any errors in this entry. Mmm. It's the scene with the Machine and he's lying on the thing with his shirt off. Indeeeed. Damn, I need to watch this more often.

Tee hee. There's such lovely dry humor in it.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that Revlon's new commercials promote the stars they feature more than the products? I mean, seriously. Who's thinking about the lipgloss on Julianne Moore's lips when you can admire her beautiful features?

Oh yes, saw Nicole Kidman's stand in while The Interpreter was filming near Third Avenue late last night. Sadly, never saw Nicole herself as had to go watch Kill Bill 2.

Seen while walking outside yesterday in the gorgeous weather: an older Asian woman with excessive white eyeshadow being asked, "May I give you a compliment?" by a younger, skinny half-Latino man; a group of friends outside the movie theatre standing in a circle that made me oh-so-nostalgic for summer; and a man looking lonely in his prison of beautiful furniture.

Saw Kill Bill I & II yesterday and I liked it. That's bout all I can say about it, because though I enjoyed it, I don't feel it touched me so much.. as cheesy as that sounds. I mean, the parts I liked about it weren't the best way I've seen those parts done, if that makes sense.

Today picnicked in Central Park once again, but with half of my Florence girls instead of my floor this time. Sat under a copse of magnolia trees and admired the balmy weather and enjoyed the reactions of people walking past the bikini-clad girls a little ways away from us.

Aw HELL YEAH. Predicted the correct winner for The Apprentice, which I won't post, just in case there's anyone out there who's reading and hasn't seen it, etc. But I am very glad he won. And I think he is tres attractive. Not that that has anything to do with anything at all, of course.

New favorite song: Kylie's "Promises."

En fin, le soleil! Or, finally, the sun! The sun's finally showing his face coincides with the dramatic uplifting of my mood. I cannot tell if it one affects the other more than vice versa, but in any case, things are looking up! Dinner tonight with birthday boy Andres and Apprentice!!!!

Ahhhh relaxation. Off to french now!

I don't want to do homework!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WAHHHHH.

And it is still grey dreary misty weather. And my nosebleeds are becoming more frequent. And I haven't gotten a sufficient amount of sleep lately. And I have a paper, presentation, chapter of French homework all due tomorrow. None of which are done. And I am just generally down in the dumps. Even having no ConWest class today served only to cheer me up for but a short while. Chris and I went shopping in Noho, but the weather and my mood did it no justice.

I love Crate & Barrel's stuff too. But somehow I think that if I put their items in my apartment, it would look all wrong.

It feels like nothing will excite me and I have nothing for which to be excited.

Don't worry, though. I think it's cette periode du mois. Alors!

Ugh it is grey and dreary out. I ate a chocolate croissant as a result.

I did end up playing tennis yesterday--oh yeah. I was quite rusty, having not played for oh, almost a year, but Michael (my coworker) said I had a fierce backhand. I always did like my backhand... In any case, I am horribly stiff and sore today, but it felt so damn good to play again and to hit those impossible to return shots!

Afterwards, we hit up a vegetarian restaurant that is now my new favorite--Red Bamboo. The "shrimp" and "chicken" there tasted amazingly like the real thing. I am sooo going there again. Let me try to remember what we ordered.. Creole Chicken, Cajun Shrimp, Caribbean Jerk, and Thai Veggie Rolls. Four appetizers filled me right up to the brim.

Then--and this is just too cool for school--he has a car! So I got to see lots of Manhattan again, but this time without the aching feet and crazy homeless people. Gosh, have I missed being in a car... We drove around for hours I think, then decided we needed some drinks. So he introduced me to another really tasty-looking restaurant, Galaxy something, and I got Oriental Spice tea which was surprisingly good.

This was near Union Square, so we walked around there for a bit. And then he told me that his friend works at the W there and could get a room for $50. I, of course, was speechless. Well, not quite. More like really really excited and squealy. I told Marie about it after I got back and we have resolved to try and get one for the end of school.

Oh dear, and we were supposed to go to Ikea today because there's a free bus (!!!!!!which Marie did not tell me about until yesterday, oh so casually, and I went crazy) but then Maliha reminded us it was Easter Sunday, so now we are tres sad. I probably ought to do some homework, anyway.

I cannot believe that I walked 79 blocks yesterday. Sheer craziness, but it was done.

Disclaimer: This is probably going to be another boring, I did this, then I did that entry, so go ahead and leave now for people who don't like that sort of entry. Actually, most people don't, so ciao to most of my readers.

Volunteered from 9:45-11:30, then worked from 12-4, then shopped with Maliha from 4-6 at H&M.. I got some damn cute tops and a pair of pants. Then I met Chris at the Met (25 minutes late, I might add.. bad me) and we absorbed the beauty of furniture and art and tried to translate German and Latin. The Temple of Duendar was majestic and mysterious with darkness outside the windows... it was so odd looking at it and thinking that it used to be part of ancient Egypt, and that people thought of it as we think of our churches. In any case, the museum closed at 9 (sadly!) so we decided to walk through Central Park (even though I was frightened of rapists) to view the reservoir, which was glittery with reflected lights of the city.

Then I decided we ought to go look at the Upper West Side, as I want to live there someday. It was rather boring and residential. So we walked. And walked. And reached... Times Square!! Which was as alive and awake and neon as ever. I really don't think you can get more New York than Times Square. We went into two stores: Swatch and Sephora. Sephora was great, cause we sprayed on copious amounts of perfume and Chris said we looked like homeless people covering up our stink.

We continued until Madison Square, at which point my poor feet were aching. Consequently, we sat on a park bench until the stink of some mysterious animal/item/person drove us away, all the way back to le dorms! SEVENTY NINE BLOCKS, people! This from the girl who is so lazy that they named a La-Z-Boy for me.. okay, so that didn't happen. But I am very very very lazy. But I walked that much. Gosh, I feel like I could conquer the world now! Or at least, get up from my chair.

And today I am hopefully playing tennis.. keep your fingers crossed people.

Sometimes, while I'm walking in the sunshine, past unsmiling friendly strangers, past the same bagel shop that always has lines out the door on Mondays, past the flower shop that emits heavenly odors, and listening to transcendent music, I feel like I can't breathe and I'm going to burst into millions of pieces that'll spread over the entire world.

All in all, I had a pretty damn good birthday.

First off, I lunched with my cousins at a yummy Chinese restaurant where we ordered my favorite steamed fish, beef with chili peppers, and garlic stir-fried bean sprouts--soooo good. And it turns out they picked up a cake for me as well! So I had Chinese bakery cake with fruit inside after they all sung happy birthday to me.

I was thinking that would probably be the extent of my celebration, with some more friends phoning in to wish me happy birthday (Laura and Arney both called around midnight :)), but boy was I wrong!

After ConWest, Chris and I were talking and I mentioned it was my birthday. He asked me what I was doing for it, and I shrugged. "Nothing, really. I already had lunch with my cousins."

"Still, you ought to do something. Someone ought to take you out or something," he said. He repeated this a little later on in the conversation, and I realized I did want to do something, damn it. I had, after all, been rifling through Zagat's the night before and my mind was filled with the thought of delicious, gourmet food in a beautiful atmosphere.

"I am going to go out to dinner. Are you coming?" I asked. He said he was free, so we arranged to call each other after my opera class. After class, I walk back to the dorm and ask Maliha if she wants to come with, and she says she's too busy cause she has a paper to do. Then I ask if she at least wants to go to Old Navy for a short while to shop, since they're having their 10 year anniversary. She refuses again, and I leave in a bit of a huff.

I end up going to Old Navy and the Container Store (oh the glory of organization!) with Chris and we walk around aimlessly, unable to decide where to eat because the responsibility of that decision was mine--and you know how indecisive I am. So at length, we actually eat at Dojo, a vegetarian-friendly Japanese restaurant near campus. Quite good for its price.

After that, I go back to the dorm and ask Maliha if she wants to watch the Bachelor with me and she again refuses, pleading too much work. I watch it in my room (yay for Marie's computer/tv) and she joins me an hour into it. Quite addictive television. A digression: what was up with the spy thing??? The spy girl he was walking with wore a strapless black dress and there were only two women who wore a strappy black dress. Maliha and I were sure it was the non-model one... ummm ABC you're either lying to us or.. lying to us.

Anyway, when that's over, she leaves and I lie there watching What Not to Wear when she bursts back in and says there's something really good on TV that I have to go over and watch. I, being lazy, say there's a tv right here. We go back and forth in that vein for a while until she mentions the Apprentice and I jump up and go with her. It turns out my friends on the floor were in her room waiting with Magnolia Bakery cupcakes (mmmmmm) and a banner and a present! The present was the Jeopardy book, which was too cool as I had been wanting to buy it. I love my friends!!!

Annnnnd! I got an A- on my Lit Interpretation paper that I thought would get a C!!!!!!!!!!! You have no idea what this means to me... I had been feeling awful because of the B's I was receiving on my papers because I felt it was a disappointment to the teacher, whom I like. So yay!

At long last, the long-awaited birthday is here!

Happy birthday to me!

I got the Zagat Guide to NYC restaurants as an early birthday gift today from Jan... yay! Now I really want to go out and eat all the time! Ah, my poor pocketbook.

I really ought not be posting. I should instead be doing something productive and mind nourishing, like reading Great Expectations, but I found a whole gaggle of Rochester blogs, and started remembering so many lovely high school things again.

It's strange, when I'm here at college, I focus on college and new york and friends here and reading. But when I happen upon Rochester memorabilia (actually I am surrounded by it but I think I've become immune to the photographs), I remember spring in high school and the impatience and the warm breeze and the secret giggles... today I heard JT's "Senorita" and it just reminded me of last year when I'd skip and go drive and listen to the JT cd in the beautiful weather.

Of course, I conveniently overlook the feeling of being boxed in with nothing to do and feeling oh so provincial. My mother called tonight and in the middle of one of her massive life updates told me that she saw my high school counselor, whom I'd stopped by and talked to during my spring visit. My counselor told my mother that I looked prettier and more stylish--a definite effect of new york on myself. So good things come from new york as well.

I don't even know where I'm going with this anymore and I ought to sleep now. Good night everyone!

New blog: bibliophile. Checks it out... if you like to read.

Wow, Livejournal is actually pretty nifty indeed! I was playing around with it yesterday and today and there are some really cool features on it. If only there were an online writing tool that could provide all of diaryland, livejournal, blogger, etc.'s features... let me recall that and say an EASY online writing tool that wouldn't take any time to learn. It's awful that our server has the capability of MT and I haven't had the patience to learn it... someday!

In any case, yes, I have a LJ now, but I highly doubt I'll be updating it. I only registered for one so I could read a certain friend's LJ which is friends-only. And boy, was it worth it to join for that journal (you know who you are)!

I am going to be playing tennis Saturday if all goes well!!!!! I cannot wait! I really think that even my occasional tennis playing last year helped in toning my arms, so I've got to get back into that habit.

So many books to read and so much to write!

I do not like Daylight Savings time in the springtime... I cannot believe it's already 10:00 pm. Grrr.

I really ought to swear off romances; they are the reading equivalent of empty calories. Instead, I should have a nutritious diet of classics.

Reading Great Expectations for Literary Interpretation right now and I love it! It's so much more funny than I thought it would be... if you've read it, I simply adore the part where Pip is telling his sister and Uncle Pumblechook about his visit with Miss Havisham. It seems right out of a sitcom--isn't that a funny thought? That sitcoms, when they first started, were most likely written by people who had been fed off a diet of classic books and has now slowly devolved into what is, oh, I don't know, "According to Jim" and such? Certainly, there are still sharp, funny sitcoms, but they are more rare than ever, especially ever since Seinfeld departed.

In any case, I am swearing off romances for a month. Really.

This is bad! After talking on the phone with Dan and asking him about his college decisions, I went on Princeton Review to check his potential colleges out and also to check out my own. The results depressed me v. much.

Apparently NYU is one of the top party schools, and the only thing good about it is its gay community acceptance and its location. Sooooo depressing. And I took the Counselor-O-Matic test and it said that my good match school was Yale. Yale! Of all places! And that I had no reach schools at all! To think!

It must be lying, or something must be wrong with it, because I'm pretty damn sure I didn't get into the Ivies I applied to...

Ergh. Bad thing to look at Princeton Review when I am happily situated.

Oooh, nifty imood deal:

Mm.. forgot it was April Fool's. I'm too lazy to do something elaborate that takes effort, like a prank.

New layout! Got tired of looking at that ugly white space. And this is one is SO much more simple. And cute, too, if I may be so bold. Okay, now must be off to watch Apprentice!