The Daily Adventures of Mercat

Eff this weather, who decided today would be the best day to go caroling?

OR MOVING. MOM, WHAT THE HELL. IT'S SO COLD.

(At least dad agrees with me, he didn't think we'd be leaving this house for about two more years.)

Ffffffffffffffuck. Off to finish emptying out my room... so weird.

EPIC DAY TODAY.

So everyone's sitting at home doing homework and stuff, waiting for chapter to roll around. The wind was ridiculous and definitely keeping us entertained. I had to go get the pool off the fence for Baujan Field, and Brittany noticed all our neighbors across the street pointing and realized we had siding coming off. From Adela's room you could see St. Joe's losing shingles off the roof. At one point the gusts were so strong I thought they were going to blow the window-mounted AC right into the house. D:

So security is coming around telling everyone to stay inside (of course EVERYONE across the street from us is outside on their porches for hours; wtf?!), and sending out warnings through the system (so the house got five calls, one for each of us) and chapter gets cancelled. So we all go back to watching TV and gettin' shit done, and of course we're all busy and sort of worried about our workload etc. etc. Well, then the internet goes down and everyone goes fuck, well, what am I supposed to do now? So we all kind of do chores until the internet comes back.

BUT, the power goes out across campus. For us it flicks back on in I'd say less than half a second, and we continue to do homework and stuff. Word slowly travels across the ghetto and the rest of campus that the north side of Stonemill (us) is the only part of the Ghetto (and actually the Dark Side, too, but I don't know about the houses by Frericks) with power. The dorms don't have power, and the upper floors (like five and above in Marycrest) don't have water, either, because of pressure.

Eventually a whole bunch of girls (some Phi Rho, some pledging, some just engineers) come over to take showers and do homework, and as it's nearing ten or so Brittany comes downstairs super-excited and puts a Britney Spears song on the CD player, puts the speaker up to the window and BLASTS it. She decided she was going to wreak revenge upon our neighbors across the street for all their Thursday/Friday/Saturday late-night music, and eventually we find some good music and I burn a mix CD and stuff.

So then Candice gets word that the PMA house (in the middle of the Ghetto, mind you, sans power) is having a greenlight. (They have an old stoplight upstairs; when it's green, it's party time.) So of course we have to go over there, and the guys are there , and as we leave our house we notice the UD Police pull up right behind us. Well, we get over to the PMA house and they're actually partying and drinking and stuff. There are a few glowbracelets and the greenlight is actually the team lights from a green-team Nerf gun, and they are powering their music off the battery for the pep band bass guitar. So of course it is awesome and at this point everyone is getting sort of slap-happy and more people are getting word and actually coming to the greenlight. Candice and I figure since we have homework and worry that Brittany might have freaked out from the police that we should go back to our house. (After all, we were having a party, too!)

So as we get back to Stonemill we can tell we're no longer blasting music, but the house down the street has Christmas lights up. One porch and one tree with colored lights, and then the tree also has a blinking giant white star. We realize Danny and Mike and some of the other guys from that house are the ones who put some of it up, so we go down there and talk to them for a bit and then steal some of their lights for our house. Well, we get back to our house and Brittany and Christine were already having thoughts of Christmas lights and pull out the house's lights. Which is an entire shopping bag full of stuff. So we put the music back on and shove an extension cord through the window AC's opening and proceed to spend the next hour or so hanging up lights, taking photos, waving to passing cars, and talking to people on the street. A few guys (5th year MBAs, don't know their names) from our side of Stonemill come down to see what's going on after we're taking out bizillionth photo with my tripod. They had heard that since we are on the grid with the campus, which is all on a generator (or, I'm guessing, several) that all these houses with the lights were trying to suck power to get classes cancelled. I can't speak for the other houses but we tell them that we're just trying to give the Ghetto some light and make people smile. And seriously, by this time, the lights are ridiculous. We have colored lights up one pole and around the top; white lights on the bushes in front; colored light tubes down the railing and around the front of the bushes; and pulsing white and blue icicles hanging from the other handrails. At this point we had a few people drive by and call us assholes :C I think because they were jealous we had power. But some people are staying the night (of course after we'd spent half a retaliation-induced-dance party and Christmas-lights time doing homework) sleeping on our couches and stuff, and some guys were supposed to come sleep over on the couches in the basement (they haven't showed up yet), but who knows. Tomorrow is another day, we'll see how that goes, too.

Oh, and the cops didn't even come up to the house and yell at us, Brittany turned the music down as soon as they pulled up apparently. =P

And after all the fun, I walk inside to see Brittany had taken a whiteboard marker and written on the wall tiles in the kitchen "Diane's Schedule" with a hole and arrows (because getting my schedule up is low on my priorities list right now) and I fix it to read "Diane's Schedule: Hopewalk and/or PoD" and Brittany and I decide (well, first of all, that we need to wash the tiles because when I got a wet paper towel to wipe away her schedule hole, there was a distinct white area and dirt line) that we are going to memorialize Phi Rho House Fun on the walls with the whiteboard markers. So she writes up "cops called" and "no power" and "christmas lights" with "9/14" on there and I add "AAHHH SPRINKLES" from Candice and this year is going to be awesome.




I'm kind of sad, though, the winds knocked over an old tree at home. =C It seems like all the older trees are having to go for one reason or another... Falling down, having to get cut down so they don't fall on the house, having to get cut down so they don't uproot the foundation, rotting, getting struck by lightning... =/ Or in this case blown WAAAAY over. It's just weird because when you come home after the old trees come down, it feels like there is a big hole in the sky. And of course, you can't just quickly grow a tree to fill it in... Yeah, this kind of thing breaks my heart, same kind of thing as having to move...

Alrighty, so... my parents bought the house. Dad doesn't think we'll be movied there for at least a year and a half, and also I'm glad they bought the one with a yard and not that ridiculous sun-room and the hostile garden takeover. (Seriously, the one they liked had god-awful wallpaper and paint jobs, this atrocious Florida room and NO YARD. IT WAS ALL PLANTS AND DECK AUGH) Anyway. Sooo... yeah. =( I'm a bit of a sad puppy. I'm not ready to give up the open space of living out here... =C The only awesome thing so far is that mom was trying to figure out room arrangements so that Laura wouldn't get shafted on closet space like she did here, and asked me if I would like the attic room (although that would mean everything gets stored in the basement--but this time it's dry...) ...YES...! So that's kind of cool. It will be short but I've always liked cavey places, aaand I sort of get a bathroom to myself (sort of).

Anyway, I watched Batman Begins again tonight. I couldn't remember what happened all the way with Wayne, only the bad-guy-takeover plot. I still love this movie, and the pacing is nowhere near as complicated as I first thought. The flashbacks did get confusing the first time, but if you listen closely to the dialogue (which I've been much more attuned to lately), they relate a lot more.

Anyway, besides the Wayne background that I couldn't remember, I was watching to compare the portrayal of Gotham. ( I guess we're getting into spoilers...GO SEE THE MOVIE ALREADY )

So just wondering, who hasn't seen this movie yet, or doesn't plan to and doesn't care about spoilers? I don't want to spoil it because it's a freaking beautiful movie and plot, but, yeah, I try to avoid cuts in my personal journal when I can. (Makes it easier to search and scan later.)

Why do we not have a closer IMAX yet? The closest is the AF museum, obviously, but they don't show non-educational films. Which I don't blame them, I mean, it's a military institution and that would be a hassle, I'm sure. Same thing goes for COSI, which is probably the next closest IMAX. So where are the commercial IMAXes?! AUGH, I want to see TDK in IMAX sooooo baaaaadly.

Anyway, interesting thing that has been mulling in my brain since Friday night/midnight Saturday, when the final installment of Dr. Horrible went up. ( You know what, this is rambling and probably spoilery for both... )

I really need to catch up on How I Met Your Mother, too. Is it sad that I only see Dr. Horrible instead of Barney? It seemed like Dr. Horrible acted almost exactly like Barney, minus how much of a jerk he is, which has only convinced me Barney has Billy hiding away... somewhere. If they got Felicia Day on the show... OMG I WOULD DIE OF HAPPINESS! <3 (I think I'm just desperate for something to get unjossed? Is that possible?)

So this fall I have three shows to watch: How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, and YAAAAAY PUSHING DAISIES! =^n.n^=

So I think my mom just woke up last week and decided that she was going to buy a house. That simple. I thought she was just kind of looking, thinking since Laura's starting school and I'm going to be a junior (!) that they're going to downsize. Mom's ready to get rid of junk and dad is tired of yard work. (In which case, I don't know why they don't pay Max to come over and do it, or someone else to... Bleh.) And when I texted dad Tuesday about trivia night, he said they were over in Oakwood looking at five different houses, and when I asked why, he simply said "mom". So I figured it was one of those "we're just humoring her and she's just looking" sort of deals, because honestly she's only been going on about it for a week. Or less. I was joking last night that she was just playing Monopoly, and quite honestly, it is weird. She was talking about buying the house they were looking at and just slowly downsizing and moving in, and... I dunno, that's kind of weird to me. What do you do with two houses? Which is why I made the Monopoly joke, becuase of the condo at Lake Loramie, too. (Only on lunch break today I realized we also still have Nana's old house that they're still renting out, which makes it even weirder.) She just made a joke about putting up a hotel when I mentioned it... It's all weird.

But tonight I'm leaving work early to meet up with her (after she's looked up some other houses) to go back and see the one she and dad saw and really liked on Tuesday. I dunno, I can't see them downsizing much. Smaller yard, yes, dad has been complaining about the yard for years. But let's see, we have an entire garage full of bikes, and yet another filled with instruments and tools and things. Mom doesn't have much downsizing to do, though, she's always been one to regularly go through and throw out. I think it's because of the way her dad brought her up, because he was super organized-clean, and they moved often enough that she regularly got rid of a whole bunch of stuff that still meant things to her.

All I know is, I'm not ready. I don't know if I ever would be, to be fair, but I'm not right now, especially not now. I didn't think they'd move until we were already moving out permanently, which we're not. Laura will be home in the summers, and I thought I would be too after the next few (corps otherwise). I have-- at least-- five years of college left, though the latter two will probably be out of the state of Ohio and I might have a job or co-op. I dunno. All of this just seems so ridiculously sudden, like now I am having to face things I've never really considered before. Never hanging out with people much because they've gone on with their lives and we'd all be out of school. Moving out of state? I never. ever. thought of it. I mean, I pictured working for Disney or COST or JPI or something, or doing my own weird architecture, but I always pictured coming home, even though I knew coming I wouldn't live there. I guess, I'm ready to move out, but not out of Ohio, not away from my friends, and I'm not ready for mom and dad to leave there either. What about summer parties? What about all their stuff? What about the fact that it seems like they're just finally getting comfortable? The door was refinished, the living room got redone, the kitchen got redone... I don't think Mom's addicted to having projects. But I mean, they built the back room, they just bought new furniture (albeit partly the cats' fault), we haven't had the treadmill long and Mom's getting a used elliptical. She still wants to paint my room and I still am trying to organize everything! Though to be honest my room isn't much more than an additional storage space anymore. I haven't spent significant amounts of time in there since before high school (and besides sleeping or cleaning or reading). Whereas Laura had friends over who hung out in her room or now James, so... yeah. I don't even think my friends have seen my room, because honestly fuckno-one wants to come out to Xenia, hell, past Xenia. *sigh*

I knew this year was going to be a big year. I'm just not sure it's good any more. Iknewit iknewit iknewit.

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Happy Birthday Tesla! He was a pretty cool dude. (And his character in the Prestige is awesome, too.)

Last night mom wanted to watch Chocolat, so we did. I had plenty of "LOL Alfred Molina" moments, but it is still a very cute movie with a very good story. And they end it well, except for one thing; what happened to Serge? I felt so sorry for him. I mean, obviously, he had alcohol issues, but he was just a pawn for the Comte, and I get the impression he was an idiot, in the "mildly retarded" sense of meaning. Which then makes it so sad that the Comte sends him away, because Serge just thought he was doing what was right! I think the directors could maybe have at least thrown him in at the end with everyone else, you know? I think the audience would assume he's getting better, as opposed to just forgetting about him... So sad. =(

But here I am complaining about movies again! I'm a regular Joe Critic. So what's new what's new.

I've been having lots of pretty ____ dreams lately. It's weird. I wake up so tired I'm not sure I'm falling all the way asleep much, which is weird because I've been hitting the pillow preeeeetty hard lately.

Also, WHERE DID THE SUMMER GO??? D= It cannot be July 10th already, no no no.


Oh man, trivia night the other night, Austin Powers. Damn. I realized that I didn't see that movie until my freshman year at Carroll, because the first time I watched it was at band camp, and we didn't finish it! I don't know why I never really remembered that before, because I swear I was quoting Austin Powers around seventh grade and stuff. Maybe not. (Also, Evolution was the other movie we watched. ALSO HILARIOUS) Anyway, it all kind of explains why I quote it so much, I obviously latched on a little too hard to the whole high school thing. Apparently.

This is very creepy.

Also, the people bitching about Wall-E being fascist really need help.

Quick post before I check my email; today was more Fall than Christmas, which was good, but I'm still not in a very good mood. I feel like I'm in gradeschool (home for the summer? sitting around reading? mowing? I dunno) and combined with feeling like fall (jeans, sweatshirts) and smelling like Ohio and I guess just the whole "coming home" feeling, I'm hoping it's either jetlag or hormones or somethign because I just opened up all my packages waiting for me (hat!!! ring!!!) and I wasn't very excited.

BUT.

I just checked my facebook to sync myself up with the countdown. It's sort of "ten days" as a nice round number but really its NINE DAYS AND ABOUT A HALF AN HOUR UNTIL I AM IN A THEATRE WATCHING INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL. Ohhhhh yeeeeeesssss. I am a little more excited now. =D

Back to post more later.

Right, here is yet another reason I hate flipflops. So, I've been trying to get rid of my kind-of-obvious tan lines from last summer by wearing flipflops this week. Well, I am inept. I walk too fast to wear flipflops, I think. The yellow Nike ones I had were too big and I remember taking at least one good spill in them at Target because I tripped over the toe. And that's just what I did coming up the stairs here, too, today. Ripped up my knee really nicely, it was even swollen pretty noticeably about an hour ago, too. Remember when Suzie got hit with the flag and had that HUGE bump on her head that looked like an egg? Mine wasn't quite that big, but it was swollen just about as badly. I don't ever remember that happening when I was little (but it did remind me of the time I scraped my knee [falling up the stairs, again] when I was younger and was determined I wouldn't cry... it doesn't even seem like it would be something painful enough to make you cry, now, but it's always embarassing). It seems like every time I start to think "dang, I haven't had a scab in a very long time, I can't remember what that last one was from" I get to have a new one. I honestly can't remember where my last one was from--it was on my left elbow and my knee, and I remember picking at my elbow... in some class... but I can't remember which class (which I usually can, as a hint for myself) or where I did it. But I remember before that I had this scratch from Tippy on my left forearm which I picked at in Miss Downie's class, and before that my biggest scratch was probably on my left knee from hitting dad's bike going down to North Carolina and really gnashing it up good (just outside Lake White).

Hm, I seem to get a majority of my knee scars on my left knee. I wonder why that is? I remember being about six and falling off the back of the tandem right as we were about to pull into the driveway, and really having scratched up my knee and elbow. (Mom was so freaked out, but I don't remember anything, I guess because I had fallen asleep and just fell off?) But I do remember getting a dark green towel and sitting in back (when we still had the brown couch and the TV and everything in back... what did we have up front? the organ?) wrapped up in the towel drinking hot chocolate (even though it wasn't cold...?) and we ordered pizza. And I think we watched the Little Mermaid, but I could just be remembering that because when I was little I used to watch the Little Mermaid back there aaaaaall the time. Damn, I forgot how much I loved that little room before we redid it all. =/

Also, either everything smells terrible today or my nose decided I could breathe today. The path I take to classes smells like something too oniony (chips of some kind?) and my uke teacher's office smelled like gross old people potatoes. (What, you are asking, does that smell like? Like old people, but when they smell like rotten potatoes. Not the regular "old people" smell, I don't mind that at all.) YEUCH.

The last two nights I've slept on the couch so my roommate can study, and oddly enough I'm getting better, more solid sleep on the couch (meaning I'm not waking up every hour or so to turn over) than I do in my bed. I think it's the cushions and the slight angle they're at, plus having a smaller space with three walls (backboard, both armrests) to push against. I dunno, I like to have something to push up against at night because otherwise my muscles feel like they're stretching to be loose or something, so I get this "growing pain" ahce. (ACK, EVERYTHING SMELLS LIKE SMOKE ALL OF A SUDDEN GROSS GROSS) Plus, since I raised myself paranoically, I am one of those people who always prefers to be in a corner (or, if that's impossible, against a wall) so no one sneaks up on me or anything. Which, with sleeping on the couch, is actually very nice. The best part of it is is that this is the shittiest couch I've seen (looks like something they made in woodshop and added the cushions to), so if I want to I can replicate it very easily. Yaaaaay.

Hm, now... to nap, or to sit around and do nothing? Decisions, decisions.