Hello all! Though I rarely get on, I do check up on my friends page every now and again to see what everyone's been up to and how they're doing. I realize this is rather unfair, since I never post about myself, so I'm giving a quick update.

Fall is starting to set in down in Ames, IA, and along with it have come the bugs. Swarms of them, little black things, that ping off your nose and glasses and lips as you bike through them (they're impossible to avoid), and cling to sweaters like creepy little interlopers. Leaves (and walnuts!) are starting to fall, and a recent scattering of showers has left us with wet squishy bike seats. The air is cool and crisp, and every now and again a neighbor will fire up a wood-burning stove, and the scent will carry all the way down the street.

Things are busy - super busy. It's my last year of college, and I'm currently working two jobs along with my classes and an honors project, as well as finishing up my internship from the summer. Already took my first midterm this morning. * dies * I'm also doing a freelance volunteer job for the city, and a Chinese performance for the Autumn festival, both of which go down near the 1st. My internship also ends then - I'm going to be SO HAPPY come the second week of October!

Recently passed the 4 year anniversary for Mini and I. =3 He recently purchased a crock-pot, and has been making all sorts of yummy things (like chili!), and playing Arkham Asylum (who DOESN'T want to be Batman?) on his computer.

Excited for Halloween! Despite the fact that I started brainstorming a year ago, I am still unsure as to what I will dress up as. Any good ideas?

Homework call in it's high keening wail - I must be off!
Hugs to all!

I started a blog entry on making hummus. Mini finished it with his usual prose and literary flair.

~~~
After a brief adventure wherein I discovered our new apartment has no can opener, I managed to open my 16 oz. can of chickpeas. The mission?

Hummus!

If you've never had hummus, let me explain: Hummus is delicious, somewhat nutritious condiment of evil. Wherein the souls of the damned (chickpeas) are given their final release. To properly enjoy this savory deviant delight one must resign themselves to not only the sin inherent in the hummus but also to the requisite sin of consuming them on a thin wafer of bread. All in all, it's a good thing to eat though.

Shakespeare once wrote "The summer of leaves is the winter of sadness." Though we are uncertain precisely what he meant we can theorize that Light Yagami fully grasps ts meaning throughout the Death Note series.

Whoops, the turkey is done frying...

More later dear readers!

~Ming, the Minglished

Hello, all!

I'm not on much, but do pop on every now and then to see what you've been up to. I hope you are all doing well, and ready for spring! Or, if you already have spring, ready for summer!

ENTHUSIASTIC COOK
I managed to burn my foot with hot oil while cooking dinner last night. Luck for me, I was wearing socks! They saved my poor foot the worst of it, and today I only have red splotches and one gross looking burn blister. No sock, and my entire foot would be a burn blister. I will never say anything mean about socks again. :)

SHORT HAIR
Since entering college, my hair has gradually gotten shorter and shorter. Last night would essentially be the culmination of this hair-nibbling venture, with my hair now ranging from 1-3 inches long. And it's spiky! How exciting! That, and whenever I walk outside I can feel the whoosh as the air moves my hair. I'm lucky to have a roommate so willing to cut hair. Whee!

EQUAL RIGHTS
Gay marriage is sweet dino-riding awesome happiness in Iowa and Vermont! You probably knew that, but I'm really excited! * dances *

Ah me, ah my!

Christmas break is over.

Much luck to you all in the coming months! I shall do my part in equal parts procrastination and tentative enthusiasm, as well as use my new-found scone recipe (thanks Arinan!)

To those of you who have found happiness, I am happy with you.
To those of you with troubles, I offer hugs.

Happy New Year!

I don't understand the appeal viewing an artist gallery of 77 testicular imprints.

Will I never understand art?

My friends, we are gathered here today in remembrance of dear William Elery Channing the Third, who on the 19th of March, 2008, slipped into a coma from which we can't afford to wake him.

He will not be forgotten.

William was my first. He introduced me to a world of wireless, to draining batteries, and a portability and freedom I had only dreamed of. Together, we discovered Firefox, and browser based MMORPGs, and the concept of obtaining things like music and games for free at a minimal moral fee. We were innocent and rash, we were young, but such things cannot last forever. You've aged, my friend. And when the blue screens started happening more and more frequently, I knew I had to start saying goodbye.

And so, we part.

It will be hard to move on, to press a different power button, to stroke a different touchpad. I don't think I can do it.

So that's it. I'm done with Windows, done with all I know and love. Your siblings would only remind me of what I lost.

I'm moving on to a Mac.

1. The Plague
I have the flu. I slept nearly all of yesterday, and I slept through my class this morning, waking up at 1pm. I then slept from 5-9pm as well. I'm luck to have a boyfriend who's willing to tuck me in and force me to eat (You WILL eat that cracker!), and today I went out and bought Sprite, the beverage of choice for sick children across the nation. :)

2. The Great Race
I won second in a race of small tricycles. I have a beautiful bruise from where my knee banged into the handlebars repeatedly.

3. Daylight Savings Time is sad.
That is all.

4. Something else?
I feel like there should be more to say, but I can't think of anything right now. I paid $60-some dollars to get into an Honors Society, so I hope it's worth it (I won't lie, I doubt it). My room is a rioting mess of empty cups and soup bowls, and I am in desperate need of groceries.

I would greatly like a kitten. A small fuzzy bunny would also be acceptable.

Digg it:
http://digg.com/people/KQ08_Trick_my_Tryke

It was part of a 26-hour competition that I'm doing right now... most diggs wins points! While fielding a question every 6 minutes, making a musical, dancing competitions, and music montages. I also participated in a tricycle race. :)

Public Service Announcement:

Despite what my actions may seem to imply, dry cereal does NOT go in the fridge. For your further information, I am not at all tired, and of course I knew that it didn't go there.

I was simply testing you.

Congratulations. You, uh, passed.

Okay, seriously.

Please, dear Spammer,understand that I do not need to “Make it stronger. Last a lot longer.” Nor do I need to “Keep my girlfriend by my side”. “Keeping it up” is not a concern that I have. To be perfectly honest, I don’t even need to “Arouse her Passion” or “Please all the Ladies”, and phrases like “No surgery! Enlarge your PE” and “Ten inches long... and growing” are just scary. I do not want to “Take a few blue-pills to surprise Her”, or to tap into the “Original Man power” that “Women Can’t get enough of”. The fact that “James Bond” or “Even porn stars Use this Pill” does NOT impress me. In fact, “Quality generic TEST0STER0NE” doesn’t appeal to me at all.

So please, stop e-mailing me.



P.S. I’m a GIRL

A friend did this, and despite being largely absent online, I have this strange urge to do something unproductive. Like I have been for the last hour or so. WHY!!??

Anyways, here's the idea: do a search for your answer to each prompt, pick an image off the first page, and post it. Woo! I used Google, but I suppose you can use any search thing like photobucket or even youtube. Amusement, whee!

First name:


Last name:


Age:


Place I'd like to go:


Place I'd like to live:


Where I live:


Favorite object:


Favorite food:


Place I was born:


Favorite color:


Favorite animal:


Worst habit:


Something I say a lot:


Occupation:

Happy days are here.

1. Blustery dreams
Camped out in the garden last night. Gorgeous weather; rain from 2-4am, and then blustery winds that threatened to smush the little tent, despite being between the protective bulk of the greenhouse and the old goose coop. (Later this afternoon, it had blown into the fence.)

2. Bumble-buddies
Went to the travel clinic, and while I was talking with the receptionist, there was a buzzing in my ear! Turns out my hair had stashed a wind-blown stowaway. He was very cute. So I took him outside and put him on a flower, while the receptionist freaked out.

3. Charge!
I was heading out of the grocery store with a cart of foodstuffs, when lo! I saw two errant shopping carts, riding the wind, charging straight at a sleeping caravan! Ever one for heroics, I dropped my own cart and leapt to restrain them. But then that evil wind sent my own cart charging forward! So I had to use one of my feet. It's a good thing there was no fourth cart. And then some nice guy who was pulling into a parking spot as I had leapt to save the caravan came and helped me. Huzzah!

4. Practical Design
I got my acceptance into Graphic Design today! Whee! I have a major! At long last!

And I am tired, and I apologise, for these summaries are not very well written. Love you all!

MORNING:
i woke up at 5:30am!
i had a mocha with skim milk, and it gave me indigestion!
i took an exam at 7:30am!

AFTERNOON:
i slaved over my porfolio for six hours!

i checked a dvd out at 3:30pm!
It took me 15 minutes to get home.
The film was an hour and a half long.
It was due at 5:30pm.

i ran into Ian and Matt!
i checked out books for my paper!

EVENING:
i was confused and angered by the failure of the postal service to deliver my financial forms for my scholarship!
i scanned a scan and it looked terrible!

i took a shower!
i ate dinner at 10:30pm!

Man, i'm tired. Isn't life exciting?

So... i'm not getting e-mails again. But not all of them, just some. The ones i care about. Off and on. Hasn't been a large problem, and when i called in earlier to tech support, i felt really embarressed when it was working again. But i didn't get the two e-mails about our big House photo for the end of the year, and as a result, was not there.

And that makes me sad, because i was sitting in my room while they were taking the picture.

So, a little upset. i started crying this morning after reading an article about the shooting, but when i reached for another paper to read about something else, there it was again on the front page. So maybe it's about time for a cry. :)

HAPPY:
Sisterling got accepted to Reed!
Made peanut butter cookies last night
Rained this weekend
Taiwan paperwork turned in
Going home this weekend
Knitting a scarf
Played Puzzle Quest (Very fun!)

BOO, HISS:
Dirty dishes
Dirty laundry
Test this friday
Paper due tomorrow (guess i should start, neh?)
Drawing coming along slooooooooooowly...
Mural cancelled
Played Puzzle Quest (Addictive = unproductive)

All in all, a very balanced state of events, yes? :D

ps: 'roci, did you get the tattoo roughs? i posted them as a comment for one of your entries.

Breaking into Spring
Stayed on campus for spring break, where I slept a lot, played a plethera of board games (Puerto Rico, Settlers of Khatan, Fairy Tale, Guillotine, Arhkam Horror), grocery shopped (Rotisserie chickens, 2 for the price of 1!) and made real food (fried rice, anyone?).

Mushy Romantic Trash
A year and a half now. :)

Pi Day
After fighting the desire all day long, Mini and i walked to Bakers Square to buy a pie after he got out of work at 9pm. We asked if there were any pi day discounts, but alas, there were none. So we got the cheapest one, and suggested that next year they sell them for $3.14 on pi day next year. Yay, apple pie!

Suprise!
Sunday night, found out my Mum and sister were visiting me on monday, as they passed through on their way to visit some colleges. We had dinner at Scallions (Korean food = love) and danced reels with the Celtic Dance Society for an hour and a half. The Sisterling slept over with my in my dorm (i rolled on her hair, she kneed me in the back... just like old times), and i treated them to breakfast with my fake money. A pleasant, if unexpected, surprise. :)

The Summer of Taipei
Filled out the paperwork for Taiwan this summer and turned it in.
Huzzah!

Those with Access (ie: the need to whine)
So, honors has a building which students can apply to get access cards for, so we can get in 24-7. I've had mine since I was a freshman. Over break, it stops working. So i go in, and they tell me to see this lady, but she won't be back until Thurs. So i come in on thurs, and they tell me she won't be in until monday. So i go in monday, and she tells me to go to General services. So i go to General services, where they tell me to see the lady. i tell them she sent me here, so they fiddle with my card for 15 minutes, tell me it's fixed, and i run off to class.
It doesn't work, so i go to the building and say as much. i then learn that i have been kicked out of honors because i haven't submitted my Program of Study, which you do after completing 60 or more credit hours. Which i haven't, unless you count the credits that i'm taking this semester. So... now i have to fill out my Program of Study, so I can fill out the form to reapply for Honors, so I can fill out the form for another key card.
Not a big deal really, but... why so much paperwork?

Program of Study
"What out of class activities do you plan to participate in at Iowa State? How do they help you reach your goals?"
Me: Tae Kwon Do helps me in my goal to beat people up, and opens up two career paths i'm considering: being a bouncer, and being an assassin. Celtic dance shows that I have friends. The fact that I have spotty attendance may seem to prove otherwise, but i assure you it's pure coincidence. D&D proves how nerdy i am. You don't believe me? *whips out a D20* Fine! Let's roll opposing bluff checks! We'll see how you fare against my +7 modifier.

Registration
Registering for only two classes proved unfulfilling, so i added a third.

(I can't get into any graphic design classes until I apply and they accept me... so I get to tell my advisor what I want to take, and she signs me up late in the summer)

Petitions
1. Spring break be the same week for everyone.
2. Naptime for college students
3. Pi Day as a National Holiday

In Summary
Things are busy. Weather's nice. Art history test on thursday.
'roci: i've been doodling, so i'll try and get those to you soon.

2/23
RAIN, ANYONE?
They said it might rain on the weekend, and it hailed. Then it raining, and then it snowed. Quite exciting, really. i got to walk barefoot on the hail stuck to the sidewalk (COLD!) on my way back from tae kwon do testing (orange belt ftw!). Then sat morning, Mini and i got up early to head to the post office (i had scholarship paperwork that needed to be mailed) only to find... it was raining! The ice from friday had formed this slick sheet over everything, so that once you started sliding, there was no way to stop. And you slide right into these cold cold puddles of water. What fun! So we went there, then the bank, and then made an impromptu stop for pancakes at a church. Mm, all you can eat pancakes! Went home and changed into dry pants, and stayed warm and snuggly as the rain turned into fluffy snow, which stuck to the ice/water coating everything, bending and breaking trees and tree limbs, encasing cars in solid ice, cancelling square dancing, and almost stopping the cyride buses. :) My favorite weekend for a while now. <3

3/2 KALEIDOQUIZ CHAOS (Flaccid with Rage)
Rushed home from philosophy to join the insanity of a 26-hour quiz show, with a question coming in every six minutes (go go google-monkeys!), scavenger hunts, music and movie montages, pirates at 1am, a dancing competition at 4am, four hours of sleep and much much more. i love KQ so much.

Feel free to check out some pics:
http://www.harwood-house.com/photos/main.php

3/6 BRIGHT EYES
Woke up to my roomies alarm clock, a glorious contraption which can play a song from a cd as the alarm. So i woke to beautiful music that went as long as i wanted (she didn't happen to be around), and now i feel wonderfully awake and rested. i love mornings like this.

Stolen from Kalyssa for fun. :)
i love the way it's designed - so pretty!
Scary thing is, i think it's quite accurate. ^^