You're probably wondering why I am constantly on about electricity recently. I've never showed an interest in it before (excluding last year's Pink House Debate on whether it cost more to heat water for tea in the microwave or on the stove--I am sure that it has to be the microwave that uses more power, right??)....well electricity has never THREATENED MY LIFE SO REGULARLY before.
First there were the weekly power cuts. Fine, but dangerous when the traffic lights all of a sudden stop working. Then, I got randomly stuck in an elevator. It lasted less than 3 minutes, but I am super claustrophobic, so I was already well on my way to hyperventilating. And now, I just got the hugest shock of my life. I was holding a string of Christmas lights and all of a sudden my whole body was jolting and crackling. In addition to the fact that South Africa doesn't have as many safety regulations or the culture of litigation that would ensure that Christmas lights don't shock the fuck out of small children during the Holiday season, South African sockets also produce double the output of American ones (220 volts versus 110). When my computer is charging and I brush my hand over the top I can feel the electric current.
I am telling you, South Africans are HARDCORE.
More clumsiness and pain for the day:
I stuck my hand in the dishwater and it came out with a huge gash. The worst part is that I somehow didn't even notice at first, so I tracked blood all over the kitchen and then had to clean all over again. Hot damn, though, I love band-aids like nothing else. In the spirit of Christmas lights, I chose a Santa one for tonight.
Essay of the week: Why the Rwandan Patriotic Front should not be portrayed as the hero in movies like Hotel Rwanda and Sometimes in April...because it misleads the impressionable Western public who then validate Rwanda's new (well, new in 1994) RPF-led government, and allow them to commit MORE mass killings along with Zaire (now Dem Rep of Congo). I love it when my essays make me feel all Zinn-ish.
Me: "Why is that woman wearing such a skanky tube top?"
My dad: "Because she is HOT."
He was actually referring to temp....no really.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Double Standard
I just got broken up with. Over an sms (text message). If any of my friends told me that I would be like, "are you kidding me?! He's not worth it anyway if he was too rude and cowardly to dump you in person." At the same time, I know he's not serious because he does this quite often when we fight and has never meant it before, which makes the phone thing less of a strike against him...sort of. On the other hand the fact that he breaks up with me every fucking time that he is upset with me--regardless of the fact that it only lasts for a few hour--counts as a strike against him in itself.
This time the break up was so hypocritical that it is mildly hilarious. He is upset because I did not call him all day. Specifically the sms said, "I hope whatever you're so busy with is important, cause it just cost you a relationship. I don't wanna be where I'm not needed or even missed. Bye." This is so entirely absurd that it deserves a list of reasons for its ridiculousness :
1) Yes, I did not call or sms today, but I had absolutely no airtime and he knew that. Furthermore, he did not bother to call or sms either, so his grounds for deserving to be broken up with apply just as much to him.
2) He cannot act like I have been slacking, because I was the last one to call. Yesterday, he did call a few times, but he was not uber nice on any of those occassions. Then, when he ran out of airtime, I called him using my dad's airtime which was a lot of effort. And the conversation was hardly worth it because he was being moody the whole time.
3) I invited him to come with my family to a rugby game yesterday which he didn't bother coming to even though I haven't seen him since wednesday, he wouldn't have had to pay, his ride was organized for him, and we would have been sitting in an entirely different section from my family...so it would have actually been quality time. So how can he say that I am the one acting like I don't need or miss him, when he won't come spend time with me when it costs him absolutely nothing???
3) Just the phrase "it just cost you a relationship" makes me writhe in anger. Like I should appreciate the fact that he is (was) dating me more than he needs to appreciate me.
Sometimes I just wish that he would grow the fuck up, because I may not be Katherine Hegel, but I am definitely worth enough to not deserve this bullshit. I already sent him an sms (with borrowed airtime) saying that he is being unfair, and I sent him a please call. I refuse to cater to his dramatics any more than that. If he wants me back, he better call and make up with me before I fall asleep tonight or he will have to super work his ass off to make me consider taking him back.
“Someone says, 'Boys will be boys'; he forgot to add, 'Boys will be men'."
-Napoleon Bonoparte.....nope, I think that the former is actually correct for the most part.
This time the break up was so hypocritical that it is mildly hilarious. He is upset because I did not call him all day. Specifically the sms said, "I hope whatever you're so busy with is important, cause it just cost you a relationship. I don't wanna be where I'm not needed or even missed. Bye." This is so entirely absurd that it deserves a list of reasons for its ridiculousness :
1) Yes, I did not call or sms today, but I had absolutely no airtime and he knew that. Furthermore, he did not bother to call or sms either, so his grounds for deserving to be broken up with apply just as much to him.
2) He cannot act like I have been slacking, because I was the last one to call. Yesterday, he did call a few times, but he was not uber nice on any of those occassions. Then, when he ran out of airtime, I called him using my dad's airtime which was a lot of effort. And the conversation was hardly worth it because he was being moody the whole time.
3) I invited him to come with my family to a rugby game yesterday which he didn't bother coming to even though I haven't seen him since wednesday, he wouldn't have had to pay, his ride was organized for him, and we would have been sitting in an entirely different section from my family...so it would have actually been quality time. So how can he say that I am the one acting like I don't need or miss him, when he won't come spend time with me when it costs him absolutely nothing???
3) Just the phrase "it just cost you a relationship" makes me writhe in anger. Like I should appreciate the fact that he is (was) dating me more than he needs to appreciate me.
Sometimes I just wish that he would grow the fuck up, because I may not be Katherine Hegel, but I am definitely worth enough to not deserve this bullshit. I already sent him an sms (with borrowed airtime) saying that he is being unfair, and I sent him a please call. I refuse to cater to his dramatics any more than that. If he wants me back, he better call and make up with me before I fall asleep tonight or he will have to super work his ass off to make me consider taking him back.
“Someone says, 'Boys will be boys'; he forgot to add, 'Boys will be men'."
-Napoleon Bonoparte.....nope, I think that the former is actually correct for the most part.
Friday, May 9, 2008
I want a vampire boyfriend too!
I have been reading my little sister's books again. Embarrassing perhaps, but teen girl lit is my guilty pleasure. Right now the books of choice are the uber popular Twilight series. In short, the heroine moves to a new school and falls in love with a vampire who is also attracted to her....and her blood. Every time they kiss he has to restrain himself from killing her. How hot is that?
Of course, my bf doesn't need to be a vampire to come close to killing me, and vice versa. Our relationship is basically a molotov cocktail. We are both stubborn beyond to belief, like to argue, and secretly love drama, which is an explosive combination. The world should be very very impressed that we made it to six months. Still, we're adorable together if I do say so myself. He needs someone to keep him in line...and I need someone who I don't feel has a weaker personality than me.
And! My hair is straight! It makes me feel almost like a different person. Its funny how much you can associate your identity with something as silly as hair. Now I look more white. Maybe that's why they are refusing to hurry up with my citizenship application. Hmph. Well, it will be curly again by monday...its already starting to get poofy and curly at the ends like messy Barbie hair. So, I will turn it into a fro by after the weekend and march into Home Affairs and demand a South African passport.
Plus has anyone noticed that Chris Matthews comes across as a huge dork? A loveable one, but a dork nonetheless.
"Senator Obama's support among hardworking Americans--white americans--is weakening again. [...] I have a much broader base." -Hillary Clinton
Of course, my bf doesn't need to be a vampire to come close to killing me, and vice versa. Our relationship is basically a molotov cocktail. We are both stubborn beyond to belief, like to argue, and secretly love drama, which is an explosive combination. The world should be very very impressed that we made it to six months. Still, we're adorable together if I do say so myself. He needs someone to keep him in line...and I need someone who I don't feel has a weaker personality than me.
And! My hair is straight! It makes me feel almost like a different person. Its funny how much you can associate your identity with something as silly as hair. Now I look more white. Maybe that's why they are refusing to hurry up with my citizenship application. Hmph. Well, it will be curly again by monday...its already starting to get poofy and curly at the ends like messy Barbie hair. So, I will turn it into a fro by after the weekend and march into Home Affairs and demand a South African passport.
Plus has anyone noticed that Chris Matthews comes across as a huge dork? A loveable one, but a dork nonetheless.
"Senator Obama's support among hardworking Americans--white americans--is weakening again. [...] I have a much broader base." -Hillary Clinton
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Say What?!
McCain called his wife a cunt? In public? How did I miss this? It is clearly true as well, because when asked at an Iowa town meeting if he truly CALLED HIS WIFE A CUNT, he responded "Now, now. You don't want to... Um, you know that's the great thing about town hall meetings, sir, but we really don't, there's people here who don't respect that kind of language. So I'll move on to the next questioner in the back." Wow. I personally would have just pulled a Clinton and denied the whole affair.
One things for certain, though. This means that there is no way in hades that Clinton voters are going to somehow flock to McCain once she drops out. Why? Let me reiterate...HE CALLED HIS WIFE A CUNT! And a trollop.
Me: "Do you have apple martinis?" ...for the millionth time
Waiter: "No" ...for the millionth time
One things for certain, though. This means that there is no way in hades that Clinton voters are going to somehow flock to McCain once she drops out. Why? Let me reiterate...HE CALLED HIS WIFE A CUNT! And a trollop.
Me: "Do you have apple martinis?" ...for the millionth time
Waiter: "No" ...for the millionth time
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Porn
Okay, why is pornography not held to the same restrictions as prostitution, liquor and drugs in South Africa? Damn it. I have to do a presentation on this tomorrow afternoon which I forgot about until just now. Let's think about this logically....without having read the court decision it does make sense that while drunken-ness (sometimes) and drug use are illegal prima facie, pornography is simply the illegal depiction of legal acts. Sex is perfectly legal within the privacy of your own home. If you can participate in it, and watch it live legally, it is somewhat of a stretch to criminalize the not-live watching of it. Drugs and alchohol, on the other hand, are illegal activities (again, sometimes) and you can watch people participating in use of those legally.
Apparently, Canada restricts obscene material based on a harm principle rather than privacy laws slash penumbras. So...drug use and alchohol and prostitution can result in death (prositution via std's???), whereas pornography will only really result in masturbation which can't produce death...only blindness. Ha ha. Not. This is ridiculous.
Never mind, I will deal with this in the morning.
In contrast to my rapidly declining interest and ability in law, my fly catching skills are experiencing unprecedented growth. I hate those little beasts that cart themselves around my room buzzing like they are on mini-motorcycles. Fuck motorcycles. They are death traps. And the silliest thing is that I wouldn't even be motivated to drag myself out of bed and go fly-hunting if they didn't insist on dive-bombing my face. There are a million other things to land on in my room. Why do they want to be intimate with me??? Hmph. Well now they know that coming near me is asking for execution. And just wait until I procure one of those electric fly zapper racquets. I will be utterly unstoppable.
Something silly: I always keep open a word document that I use to type words in that I feel have questionable spellings, so I can see if they are correct or if they get that little red underline. Racquet was one of those words that I had to check. It still looks suspicious to me, though.
"They should put the finger holes in the back of the bowling ball."
-Josh....I will never again let him mock me when I say dumb things.
Apparently, Canada restricts obscene material based on a harm principle rather than privacy laws slash penumbras. So...drug use and alchohol and prostitution can result in death (prositution via std's???), whereas pornography will only really result in masturbation which can't produce death...only blindness. Ha ha. Not. This is ridiculous.
Never mind, I will deal with this in the morning.
In contrast to my rapidly declining interest and ability in law, my fly catching skills are experiencing unprecedented growth. I hate those little beasts that cart themselves around my room buzzing like they are on mini-motorcycles. Fuck motorcycles. They are death traps. And the silliest thing is that I wouldn't even be motivated to drag myself out of bed and go fly-hunting if they didn't insist on dive-bombing my face. There are a million other things to land on in my room. Why do they want to be intimate with me??? Hmph. Well now they know that coming near me is asking for execution. And just wait until I procure one of those electric fly zapper racquets. I will be utterly unstoppable.
Something silly: I always keep open a word document that I use to type words in that I feel have questionable spellings, so I can see if they are correct or if they get that little red underline. Racquet was one of those words that I had to check. It still looks suspicious to me, though.
"They should put the finger holes in the back of the bowling ball."
-Josh....I will never again let him mock me when I say dumb things.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
It's been 2 years
May 2nd was Olive's death day, and it came and went for me without notable events slash emotions.
Brief Memories In Honor Of Her:
-On one birthday (possibly my 16th) she surprised me at my window in the morning with birthday scones and a fabulous seranade. And her actual presents were always adorable and amazing. One Christmas she made me a Build-a-Bear named Sondra (after one of our fake multiple personality characters), with a little recorded message that played when you squeezed the paw. The best present ever was probably the garden gnome she got me...I named it Knut. We both loved the movie Amelie, and I think that is where she got the idea. Sadly, the gnome is lost now. It got packed into a box (lovingly) during a mad rush to move out of the dorms junior year, and was never found. I am still confident that it will be though. I would take Knut with me anywhere. In short, sweetest friend ever.
-She also came up with the yummiest "gourmet" sandwiches ever. Don't even question. Just try them. The ultimate midnight snack sandwich: Wheat bread, roasted red peppers, pesto, feta, turkey, and dijon mustard. Amazing. Also delicious=open faced and toasted bread with dijon and mayo, thinlythinly sliced granny smith apple, red onion and (melted) havarti. She was very into gourmet as a food type and a general adjective for everything in her life. Her favorite magazine was Martha Stewart Living, and then it was Real Simple, and then Dwell. When you combine all those, it pretty much encapsulates a lot of her essence.
-She loved Jimmy Eat World, and LIT, and scruffy (slash artsy) boys.
-Once we spent almost an entire day in FAO Schwartz before it left downtown. How often do you find someone willing to play with you in giant stuffed animal piles and barbie rooms for hours?
-She biked to Ballard with me randomly one afternoon after school just because I liked a boy who lived there. It took something like 5 hours round trip and I think involved some creative story-telling to our parents, since we didn't tell them we were going anywhere, and once they found out, claimed that we had just ridden to U Village.
-For our abstract assignment in high school photography we spent a huge amount of time chasing a plastic bag that we found blowing in the wind on 35th St. Impossible. We never caught in on film. Then, the day after she died I saw a plastic bag blowing right outside the window of the fourth floor lounge in the Mercer dorms. How random is that? Now I always think of her when I see plastic bags blowing in the wind.
Brief Memories In Honor Of Her:
-On one birthday (possibly my 16th) she surprised me at my window in the morning with birthday scones and a fabulous seranade. And her actual presents were always adorable and amazing. One Christmas she made me a Build-a-Bear named Sondra (after one of our fake multiple personality characters), with a little recorded message that played when you squeezed the paw. The best present ever was probably the garden gnome she got me...I named it Knut. We both loved the movie Amelie, and I think that is where she got the idea. Sadly, the gnome is lost now. It got packed into a box (lovingly) during a mad rush to move out of the dorms junior year, and was never found. I am still confident that it will be though. I would take Knut with me anywhere. In short, sweetest friend ever.
-She also came up with the yummiest "gourmet" sandwiches ever. Don't even question. Just try them. The ultimate midnight snack sandwich: Wheat bread, roasted red peppers, pesto, feta, turkey, and dijon mustard. Amazing. Also delicious=open faced and toasted bread with dijon and mayo, thinlythinly sliced granny smith apple, red onion and (melted) havarti. She was very into gourmet as a food type and a general adjective for everything in her life. Her favorite magazine was Martha Stewart Living, and then it was Real Simple, and then Dwell. When you combine all those, it pretty much encapsulates a lot of her essence.
-She loved Jimmy Eat World, and LIT, and scruffy (slash artsy) boys.
-Once we spent almost an entire day in FAO Schwartz before it left downtown. How often do you find someone willing to play with you in giant stuffed animal piles and barbie rooms for hours?
-She biked to Ballard with me randomly one afternoon after school just because I liked a boy who lived there. It took something like 5 hours round trip and I think involved some creative story-telling to our parents, since we didn't tell them we were going anywhere, and once they found out, claimed that we had just ridden to U Village.
-For our abstract assignment in high school photography we spent a huge amount of time chasing a plastic bag that we found blowing in the wind on 35th St. Impossible. We never caught in on film. Then, the day after she died I saw a plastic bag blowing right outside the window of the fourth floor lounge in the Mercer dorms. How random is that? Now I always think of her when I see plastic bags blowing in the wind.
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