108 Degrees and All is Well

Summer.
Working almost 40 hours a week.
Rehearsing five nights a week from 6:30 until whenever the hell our insane director lets us leave (last summer it was usually before midnight. Usually being the operative word).
Sweating.
Driving.
Eating fruit in massive quantities.
Selling my soul to the oil companies, or possibly trying to singlehandly retrofit my car so that it runs on vegetable oil.
Home friends.
Missing VC friends.
Did I mention sweating?

come visit me, what happens here stays here (unless you're Britney)
littleone

Peace.

**WARNING: THIS POST IS LONGER THAN 300 WORDS.**

So this will be my last post as a Joss correspondent, because I am moving to a GLORIOUS apartment next year, where no one will vom on my bathroom floor (hopefully) or scream outside my window at 4 AM. It's a little bittersweet at the same time, because I'll miss being able to run up and down the halls and visit my friends whenever I want, but the benefits far outweigh the losses. So prepare yourselves for The Adventures of Littleone Off-Campus (volume one: Adventures in Cooking OR Littleone Sets the Oven on Fire).

(ESPECIALLY SINCE THE DC BAGELS ARE APPARENTLY INFESTED. Oh my GOD, I eat those every day. Including this morning. I am seriously holding back my gag reflex right now. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check Mads or the Vassar Livejournal community... unless you have a weak stomach or have recently eaten a bagel from the DC.)

Back on track, though...

This year. What can I say? I don't know where to start. It wasn't what I expected. Nothing about this school is what I expected. Which isn't to say I'm unhappy - I really do love Vassar.

I forgot that your status somewhere else doesn't automatically transfer. I was first in my class in high school, in the top level of dance in a fairly competitive program, building up a reputation in the theatre community in my city... yeah, none of that came with me to Vassar. There are a lot of people here that are a LOT smarter than me, I didn't even get into VRDT, and... well... the theatre thing went well, so I guess I'm good at something. But as I learned in high school, so too am I learning in college - if you want respect, you kind of have to work your ass off to get it. And I'm doing that. And I love it.

I will miss you all during this long, hot (I hate living in the desert) summer. If you need me, you will be able to find me drowning my sorrows at Del Taco.

littleone

Who naps with their blinds open?!

After my two-week long stay in the hospital with Toxic Shock Syndrome and a Staph infection and a near-death experience, vivalawhitegirl is back with Miss Abreves, because I might get too tired and fall asleep before I finish this post. we walked all over campus today running errands and we saw that our friends window was open and the blinds were up so we called his name and he was napping! what a silly goose.

anyway, the list. things we're gonna miss about vc.

r the g
hipster royalty
fucking up my stir fry
getting $7.50 for my $200 bio book
nicknames and the people who have them
lalala
free condoms
kid with cape
kid with leopard hair
cosmo story excerpt readings
kmg
dmn (the game and the person)
the m
christmas lights year round in a noncreepy way
boys with scruff
gossip girl/project runway gatherings
"hansel, he's so hot right now"
nuggets!

have safe trips home and have a great summer,
vivalawhitegirl

ohmigod I want to go home.

I'm sitting here in front of my window with my fan on.

My fan is blowing cigarette smoke directly into my face because of the people sitting on the steps of Joss polluting the airspace.

Cigarette smoke gives me migraines.

I HATE SMOKERS SO MUCH. Blacken your own lungs all you want, but leave me out of it. I seriously don't get why people our age smoke. We all know the MANY health risks perfectly well, and I can't be the only person with multiple relatives having suffered lung cancer. Seriously, is it worth it to look "cool" (which, for the record, you don't) or be skinny?

gross.
littleone

That's nice.

It's nice to know, even in retrospect, that people care about you. I had a really rough first semester and a friend of mine mentioned tonight that she, and other people, had been worried about me. It's funny, because I had only known them for a couple months at that point, and they were still concerned about me. I'm doing a thousand times better now... thanks to the fact that even though I've only been here since August, I've still found people who care enough to worry about someone they hardly know.

Thank you, all of you.
littleone

p.s. There was an EMS van outside of my dorm a little while ago (it's 1:40 as I write this). Seriously, guys? It's freaking Tuesday. I know it's the last day of classes, but why don't you celebrate by NOT drinking yourself into a comatose stupor? Everything in moderation...

Fantastic Weekend

I've seriously been in the greatest mood ever all weekend. On Friday night, my friends and I had a Disney movie marathon (Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid, Mulan, and Aladdin) and honestly, there is nothing to put you in a good mood like watching four Disney movies in a row while eating amazing brownies (the normal kind, not the sketchy kind).

And then FOUNDER'S DAY, which absolutely lived up to what everyone told me about it. I was just in such a happy place all day, and so was everyone else I was with... and despite the fact that it was "the longest day ever" (I am agreeing with Mads on this one), and I'm still confused as to how we packed in so much activity into one day, it was absolutely lovely.

And those fireworks! They were GORGEOUS! From my vantage point, it was like they were falling on my head. It was stunning; I didn't want it to end.

13 days until home.

love and hungover Sundays
littleone

Just Remember to Breathe

Ok so its a Sunday without sun and I am trying to consolidate these last few days here, packing, studying, working etc before I have to go back to the real world [?]. Not that going home is anything new for me, I have a habit of taking myself on multi-month orbits away from my family/hometown and the collisions/near misses that always take place upon those returns have so far marked the grittier, emotional turnpikes in my life. So 'woo' for heading home in 2.5 weeks for round 6.

In the meantime I am going to continue on blindly in my Vassar-d bliss and send out a kudos to Vice for an awesome Afterhours show last week, Meiko and co wove a magnificent acoustic blanket for my friday night and I really appreciated that end of week break.

So here we go, lets just all remember to breathe, and everything should be ok.
tenandthree

Productivity at Its Finest

Awkardest opening sentence of an article ever:

"Fans of American Idol will get a chance to lick all seven winners of the hit Fox reality show... in the form of a stamp, that is."
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24072225/

I can't get anything done tonight!!!!
And my stomach is making funny noises because I ate too many blondies at Freshman 15!!!! (ironic.)

littleone

Because It's Wednesday and I Want To

There are waaaay too many little things to do on this campus. And when you try and stay on top of what is going on, your trajectory on an imaginary map winds up looking like something the cartoonist from "Family Circus" would have come up with. At least thats the case for me. Getting to the last day in April and realizing how deplorably few trips I have made to the city, or to ANYWHERE off campus, is more than a little embarassing (especially considering everyone back home assumes I LIVE in the city) and forces me to reconsider just why it is that I "dont have time."

So tonight I am feigning time and sherking my committments and responsibilities and any other guilt-inducing word and going to a show in the city. Because it's Wednesday. And I want to. And I've long since put on hold the occasion of free-drinks at ladies night. So while this choice will probably kick my ass in a couple of days....I am still going to do it....so, ya.....peace.

tenandthree

Security

So I'm awake at 2:30 AM pondering Vassar security.

I'm awake and pondering Vassar security because a member of their fine team just thought it necessary to have a loud conversation on the phone in my hallway for a good half hour or so. At 2 AM.

In the wake of Don Marsala's email this weekend, shouldn't VC security be doing something a little more closely related to their job than whining about it on the phone while people are trying to sleep?

I've been following people's reactions to Friday's incident on the various Vassar Internet postings, and I can't help but agree with the people that are saying that security needs to get their collective ass in gear. They're too busy hanging outside of doors, waiting for them to open so they can bust the Natty-Light-drinking freshmen inside, rather than trying to make sure that students aren't being attacked by strangers that have made their way onto campus. Security's presence in our dorms doesn't make people drink less - it just makes them drink faster so there's less of a chance of getting caught. And that's dangerous.

Coming up next: littleone tries to talk about the Joss elections without jumping off a cliff.

you know you love me? or, rather... not?
littleone

It's All Over...

So on Thursday and Friday my dance group had its final performances of the year. With that and Bare both now over, I'm not exactly sure what to do with myself... except catch up on the 9350438 pounds of work that I ignored for the past three weeks. Aaaaaagh.

In other news, a comment on my last post made me realize just how disconnected I've become from Joss over the past few months. It's a good thing for me - I'm moving off-campus next year, so it's likely that I'll never live in Joss again, and I'm not really a huge fan of the place anyway - but it's a little weird, considering just how much time I spent here at the beginning of the year. I'm hardly here these days. When I'm not in class or at rehearsal (except not rehearsal anymore, SOB), I'm at UpC or the library or hanging out with friends in other dorms. I don't know... I don't really like living in dorms (hence the reason I'm moving off-campus), so I'm avoiding it at all costs until I don't have to do it anymore, I guess.

sorry for the completely disconnected rambling. I need to go write some
papers now...
littleone

Good Lord.

So yesterday I wake up, head to the bathroom, and discover something a little disturbing in one of the stalls... and not the usual "There is a college student who has yet to learn to flush a toilet" kind of bathroom disturbing. This hit a whole new level for me -- it was a notice that basically said something like this:

"Dear Josselyn Residents: We are aware of the drug use in this house... etc etc, if you need to talk, the house team is here as a nonjudgmental resource."

It closed with this disturbing little piece of possible foreshadowing:

"We are thankful that Vassar does not have a disciplinary RA system. Let's keep our dorm healthy, blah blah blah etc, xoxo Joss House Team."

I had no idea that the drug problem in Joss was so rampant. I mean, I was definitely aware of it, but I assumed it was the same across the whole campus... but at the same time, what constitutes a drug problem? To me, a bunch of people smoking weed all the time really isn't a drug problem. A bunch of people freaking out on shrooms and acid, on the other hand, definitely is. But haven't those been isolated incidents? I wish they would tell us things rather than give us these creepy vague warnings.

eek.
littleone

One Voice

**WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS MORE THAN 300 WORDS.**

I've done a lot of performing in my life. I've been part of a fair few ensembles that adored each other and I have even helped make an audience cry once or twice. I'm no stranger to invoking deep emotion or to being swept away by the passion of a performance.

But never before have I experienced something like I did as a cast member of Bare.

After auditions, I was just excited to be in a show. I hadn't done anything since last June, and I was dying for the stage (anyone who's been on one can tell you that it's addictive). I was looking forward to challenging my vocal range and making a few new friends.

Little did I know what it would turn into... somehow, I found myself wrapped up in a group of incredible people who were as unabashedly eager about art and expression as I am. A group of people who reminded me that I am talented, and I am a product of hard work -- and that talent and hard work can produce nothing without an ensemble effort. I can't express how thankful I am to have these people in my life. They saved me from myself.

Nothing can top this weekend's four performances. Nothing. I couldn't hold myself together at the end of the show -- all I could think of was that this happens. Thoughtless discrimination happens, and I could see it reflected in the tears of our pianist, of the boy sitting in the front row, of my fellow cast members, all of whom have been victimized before just because they're different in such an unimportant way.

I hope that everyone who came to see the show got something out of it, whether you liked it or not. Please -- remember that people can be hurt by your words, and sometimes even more so by your silence.

"Jesus knows what's up."
littleone

p.s. also, PRACTICE SAFE SEX, and make sure that you aren't unknowingly eating pot brownies, and maaaybe avoid raves.

The List

miss abreves and i are back with this week's latest list: things that annoy hipsters. you know, the hipsters? who are so much better than you and dress better than you and you know, they don't care. secretly they know they're trying to be better than you but they'll never admit it. they're so nonchalant, you might not be able to tell if you're annoying them or not. try your best.

1. playing miley cyrus on the quad loudly
2. doing squats (their pants are too tight)
3. dont recycle
4. be carnivorous
5. tell them all the bad things that cigarette companies are doing
6. the beatles suck
7. be skinnier than them (which i will refer you to our previous list)
8. wear winter scarves more fashionably than hipster scarves
9. talk about made-up bands
10. wear sunglasses inside
11. get really really tan because pale is not the new tan
12. be better at super smash brothers... on n64
13. shave their bangs
14. buy expensive clothes and flaunt them like cheap ones
15. talk in abreves! (obvi)

don't annoy them too bad, their mafia will find you,
vivalawhitegirl and miss abreves

sunscreen.

The sun is back in a big way and regardless of the promised showers next week, I am quickly becoming D-addicted again. I commented to a friend of mine who is from this region that it's funny how chamelionized east-coasters are when it comes to the weather, quickly discarding most clothing save for a bikini and a blanket the minute the sun warms the quad to plus-60 degrees. It's awesome and as I can now understand after my first winter here, an essential survival technique for the cloudy, flooded days of ice rain and wellies.

That's all. See you on the quad, I'll be there trying to lose the transparent glow I earned this winter. And dont forget your sunscreen.

tenandthree

RED ALERT

BEE IN MY ROOM EEEEEEEEEK

littleone (regretting her lack of window screen right now)

How Delicious Animals Are

let me count the ways...

here's something i don't understand: vegetarians. bacon is so good. hamburgers are so good. sausage is so good. steak is so good. fried chicken is so good. why would you ever give that up? to save the animals while taking precious jobs away from people in meat factories in an already declining economy? when did animal rights outweigh human rights? stop being selfish.

that cat over there on the quad looks so delicious,
vivalawhitegirl

Seriously, Listen to SPRiNKLES

COME SEE BARE THIS WEEKEND.

We've been working really, really hard to get this show off the ground and I think we've accomplished something pretty awesome. I promise you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wish that you got half as much action in a month as Tino Lim gets in 2 hours of the show...

Anyway, I'm SUPER PSYCHED for our opening on Thursday! Only one teensy little problem - I have a heinous cold and my voice is threatening to go MIA (and I mean that in the army sense, not the hot Sri Lankan that I missed on Friday sense). So I put myself on vocal rest today, went to Baldwin, got some drugs for my sinuses and for the mysterious infection that also popped up in my eye... and I've decided that my voice WILL be back and in rare form on Thursday for the opening. I refuse to have it be anything but.

Seriously. Come see it. You won't regret it.

Now, off to sleep off the sickness.
littleone

A Few Sites Worthy of Your Time

The Guardian Comment Page. Because Brits are brilliant.

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/index.html

CBC Radio3, a ton of FREE indy and up-and-coming music, concerts-on-demand, killer podcasts and playlists, generally awesome music to aid your studying, running, playing, living, etc.

http://radio3.cbc.ca/

and finally, the site were all those random campus patrol ads are getting their pics on. hiLARious, a new one everyday, totally worth mining the archives.

http://www.qwantz.com/

tenandthree

Skinny Girls

There are some obscenely skinny girls on campus. Like it's gross. You're not attractive. Get some meat on your bones. Me and Miss Abreves made a list of what you should eat:

Pizza with extra grease
Cheezburger with extra cheese
Sandwich with extra mayo, bacon, roast beef
Ice cream but NOT fro-yo
Mac n Cheese
Meatloaf
Steak
KFC
Deep fried oreos
Twinkies
Tacos
Nachos supreme
Whole milk
Milkshakes
Pork chops
Chocolate chocolate cake
Human flesh
Nuggets

Don't vom,
vivalawhitegirl