We were sitting round the table, Joyce, Cynthia, Tillie, and I, when suddenly Joyce says, "Let's do auras!" Tillie and Cynthia looked at her oddly while I nodded. Joyce explained that to do an aura was to look at someone and say the color you thought their 'aura' was--basically what color you thought represented them best. Strangely enough, for each person (except me), two or more people said the same color!

Before I tell you my results, I want to know, what do YOU think my aura is? First impulses, please.

...

In other news, life is going well. Anyone else seen the new Britney video, "My Prerogative" yet? I still can't believe she's married. But who am I to judge?

I don't think I'm friends with any English majors, which is kind of worrisome, as these are the people I will most likely work with in the future, right?

Sometimes I really don't know about my social skills. Maybe I never had them, but they're definitely in decline now.

In classes, I'll watch other people who can converse so easily to strangers and wonder, how do they do that? It seems like a tricky fence to walk, every word a potential crash to the ground which'll break all your bones. Maybe the trick is to be curious and nice, all at once. Maybe there is no trick, and it's just a natural born talent that some people will never have. Or maybe I just need to work on it. It's kind of hard though, when I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing.

I would like more friends of the opposite sex here, purely for the reason change-of-scenery. Girl friends are all very well, but there is something so nice and uncomplicated about guy friends which cannot be duplicated in girlie friendships. There, again, is a fence within a fence (ah, definite misuse of a metaphor), a delicate balance between appearing friendly and appearing flirtatious. I really can't tell the difference for myself sometimes. Do I even flirt? I don't want to give off the wrong signals, and I think I do.

Pah.

...

There was a red-lit wall that was evocative; the memories slithered, slinked through me. I felt the newness, the excitement, the nostalgia. Everything all at once, in a rush. Then the band started, and the moment was lost.

What on earth? Getty Images has an image gallery in their Entertainment section with title: Britney Spears Marries in California... I've been Googling it and have come up with only entries for the Las Vegas disaster. Can anyone verify this?

UPDATE: It's true! E! Online has the news item (with spelling mistakes). Sweet. I was totally ahead of the wave on that one.

Before I forget: two great sites...

I Found Some of Your Life - someone found someone else's camera memory card and is posting said pictures with funny commentary.

Johnnie Walker - great writing and interesting life experiences make for an excellent site. Just go chex it out.

Oh I am totally going to rock that Millionaire shizat!

So the other night, I read in US Weekly that people could sign up for auditions to be on the Who Wants to be a Millionaire Celebrity Life edition, and since no one is more obsessed than me, I logged on and signed up.

I got an e-mail today saying that I had been accepted and that they would contact me later with my audition date and time.

HELL YES. Earning money for stuff I read about every week has got to be the coolest concept ever.

Ah yes, forgot to mention I saw a screening of Shaun of the Dead, a British zombie comedy. Who thought those two words would go together? But they do in this gruesome movie--you've been warned; it's rather graphic. Funny bits, but of course. I recommend a viewing.

Been sick. First time I've been sick in a while and it's awful.

Finished 2nd book in the Precious Ramotswe series by Alexander McCall Smith. No doubt you've heard of his The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency? If not, you really ought to take a look. Mma Ramotswe sure is sassy!

Site to check out:

Help Me Bubby!-an advice blog by a Jewish grandmother. Lovely. Makes me wish I had a grandmother with whom I could communicate!

Watched The Philadelphia Story today, finally, and loved it. Really wish I lived in the 50s, even though this movie takes place in the 40s. Just reminded me of my general nostalgia for 50s...

I am completely in love with Frou Frou. Go download their song "Let Go" right now; it makes me feel like everything's all right in the world and beautiful as well.

Last night, Tillie, Andres, and I went for a threefer--three movies for the price of one. We were pleasantly surprised that the Loews on 34th St. is only charging $8.99 a movie! Our lineup was Hero, Vanity Fair, and Garden State. Strangely enough, all of them contained the same thing: a scream, whether it be from anguish or whatever.

My reviews? Well, I'd already seen Hero before, but every time I watch it, I like it a little more. What ruined it for me was the person sitting next to me. All through the movie, he was quiet, but then at the end, he started scoffing at a certain part which is rather touching.

As for Vanity Fair: the colors were absolutely gorgeous, and I loved the title sequence. And Sam, I can totally see the James Purefoy thing now--phwoagh. I haven't finished the book yet, but I can already tell that they are very different. Both are, however, good in their own ways.

Garden State was great for the first half, but then degenerated into typical romantic comedy. The thing is, I don't know if this is my own opinion, or if it's the opinion of USA Today running rampant in me. That's the thing about movie reviews--I really can't read them cause I'm too susceptible.

School has started, and I'm reminded of my allergy to lectures--no matter how interesting a lecturer is, I cannot stay awake through an hour and fifteen minutes of someone talking at me. I have to have some sort of interaction, or I become deathly bored.

So today is the three year anniversary of 9/11. Somehow I don't feel right taking part in any mourning ceremonies, especially the one my dorm is going to, as the posters announcing the trip seem to emphasize the free food afterwards more than anything else. I can just be glad, I suppose, that I very luckily didn't lose a loved one in the tragedy, and send my best wishes to those who did.

Interesting links:

Bush by Numbers - stats on el Presidente [via MeFi]

Face of Tomorrow - an artist's worldwide project. I like Australia.

Tiny Sepuku - cute comic strip that is hilarious--start from the beginning, in 2000.

The Official Icherri U.S. Open Report (from Wednesday's games)

It was an exciting lineup, we learned as we stepped off the subway. Hantuchova, Hewitt, Kuerten, S. Williams, Sharapova.. big names! But not the medium name that I was looking forward to: James Blake. Apparently he's out with a virus. Sadness. The one year I go to the U.S. Open.. I guess this means I'll be going next year!

In any case, the air was ripe with the scent of overpriced food and I was just plain excited. We took our seats up in the nosebleeds in Arthur Ashe and watched Hantuchova beat down her opponent. Then Hewitt came out. I used to be such a fan, then the whole James Blake affair happened.. In any case, it was still pretty exciting to see him, even if he was basically a tiny speck. His match with Ferreira started and you could see right away who was going to win. Ferreira just seemed to have no fight in him at all. We left before the match ended however, as we had to get seats for the Kuerten v. Pless showdown.

The sun was painful. Luckily, we scored some seats in the shade after the Spadea v. Horna match, which was fiery, nothing like the Hantuchova and Hewitt matches which were pretty much domination by the aforementioned two. Near the end, Horna was hitting his own head more than the ball. Finally, Guga Kuerten came out! So cute. I took photographs, which I will post as soon as I can. He always looks as though he's smiling. He grew his hair out again!

In any case, Pless was a worthy opponent (and also kind of cute), held up against the rampant cheering and Brazil flag-waving for Guga which you gotta admire. Plus, he's Danish. Okay, I don't know what that means. Anyway, the match was a great match, very well-played. Most of us left in the middle to go see Serena, cause, let's face it, she's Serena. I was very disappointed with the crowd, who kept cheering on her opponent, Lee-Waters, a typically pretty blonde who had a squeaky grunt. Serena looked great in a black two piecer with rhinestones attached. Or maybe they were diamonds. Who knows, with her wealth?

After we watched Serena murder Lee-Waters (I was gleeful), we headed back for more Kuerten action. We were just in time to see the tie break ending--man was it a tiebreak. Seriously, the judge had a really bad call on one of the important points. Baaad call. But Pless won, deservedly, and the crowd applauded him.

We were all getting kind of tired at this point, and Maliha headed back with her brother. But before the rest of us left, we had to see the legendary Maria Sharapova, she of the post-Anna Kournikova fame. I took photos of her also, jammed between many men talking about her hotness. A little odd, to say the least.

Suzanne knew someone playing in the U.S. Open--Uberoi, so we went to see her doubles match. She was playing with her sister and they were pretty goshdarn good. Then yesterday we saw her on TV playing Venus. It was weird/cool.

So there you have it. I also bought my sister an overpriced t-shirt and ate some of Arney's overpriced nachos.

Today is the last day of full time work. Joy joy. Long weekend ahead--tax free shopping as well!