The Cleaning Saga: Part II-Refridgerator/Freezer and More Kitchen
Now Playing: The Wizard and I/Dreams
Topic: Apartment
Armed with more all purpose cleaner and more Comet, I went back to tackling the kitchen.

First was the freezer. I threw out the popsicles that thawed and then refroze after the freezer was accidentally left open all day a week or so ago because it didn't close properly because there was so much crap in there. I also threw out some nastly unidentifiable shit, some of my old frozen veggies that I forgot about, and a pot pie that had been in there forever. I made a little list on the white board asking who everything belonged to as a reminder that they have it. As for actually dirt and stuff, the freezer wasn't too bad.

The fridge, on the other hand, is a completely different story. It was gross. We have two grate shelves and one solid shelf on the botton. That botton one was disgusting. I have no idea what fell on it that made it so bad. But the really hard thing to clean was some crap underneath the drawers. It took some elbow grease to clean that. I found two things of salsa and two things of barbaque sauce so I combined those. I tried to combine our two ketchups (that one is my fault) but it didn't all quite fit.

Then I finished off Kathryn's dishes so I clean the sink. Those forks, knives and spoons were gross. All the food was stuck on, and there was also so food on the bottom of the sink stuck on too. As I type, that side of the sink is sitting in hot water to finish cleanising/sanitizing it.

All that remains for the kitchen is the floor but I'm saving that for absolute second to last (last is the shower). Now I'm going to grab the vaccum and start that. I'm also going to take out some frozen chicken I found and start to thaw that and make my speciality?oven barbaqued chicken

The Cleaning Sage: Part III-The Living Room
Now Playing: Five: When The Lights Go Out
Topic: Apartment
The most difficult part of cleaning the living room was moving the damn couches. They were very heavy.

I moved our loveseat one first. I was very surprised to find Kathryn's little chocolate things under there. Then I looked more closely and saw bite marks and rat poop. I was suddenly not as surprised, just annoyed. Fortunately there wasn't anything under the regular couch. It was just a pain trying to drag it.

And after all that cleaning, I of course pick tonight to actually cook a dinner and bake the last of the pumpkin bread, and in the process dirtying some fo the kitchen again. But I was good and cleaned it up. I did leave the loaf tins soaking though. But as I was putting my chicken in the fridge, I felt so proud because it was so clean and so empty.

For Part IV tomorrow, the start of the bathroom.

The Cleaning Saga: Part I-The Kitchen Counters
Now Playing: Real McCoy: The Sky Is The Limit
Topic: Apartment
I started the cleaning I promised I would do this week. As the title suggests, I started with the kitchen counters. First I had to put away the dishes Kathryn did manage to get to. Then I started the cleaning. Boy did we have some stubborn dirt around the sink. By the time I got to the big counter, I was running out of cleaner. A lot was also used on the stovetop; stupid grease. I still have the sink to do. For some reason I thought Kathryn was still here and that's why there were still dishes in the sink. But after I had been downstairs and hadn't seen or heard her, I tried knocking and then tried opening her door but it was locked, meaning that she left sometime this morning. Also leaving me with her dirty dishes because I do want to clean our sink out. It hasn't been cleaned since the last time I did a major cleaning about a month and a half ago. And those dishes have been sitting in there since then. Anyway, I ran out of cleaner by the time I got to the microwave. So I decided to prepare to do the fridge and then go shower and what not.

Much to my surprise, one of them (Julie I'm pretty sure) cleaned out some of there stuff. As in, I could actually see the shelves the foot sat on. I threw out all the grapes. There was some other things that were expired/would expire over break but they hadn't even been opened yet so I left them. I did throw out all of the grape juice (only had like half a glass gone from it) and the orange juice as they both had "best if used by sept" on them. Once I get more cleaner, the fridge/freezer will be the next thing I tackle.

I almost saw someone get hit by a bus tonight.

I was taking the bus home and this girl wearing a dark grey or black or navy sweatshirt with dark pajama pants was on her bike and pulled along the side of the bus. I saw her because I was on that side of the bus. The driver did not however. The girl turned on to the street by cutting directly in front of the bus. Not nearly wide enough for the driver to see her. This was as the bus started to pull away from curb. The driver didn't see her until she was about 7/8 across the bus. The bus nearly clipped her. I saw the girl look back. I couldn't see her face clearly but I'm pretty sure she gave a look of disbelief, shock and disgust at the bus.

Now while if there was an accident, the bus would be cited as being as at fault. But to me, it is totally the girl's fault and I don't think I would have felt very sorry for her.
1) Wearing dark clothes thus not very visible at night
2) Had no reflective gear whatsoever aside from the pedals (if that) thus not very visible at night
3) Had no light thus probably did not see the bus moving and also thus not very visible
4) Was not wearing a helmet.
5) Did not swing wide when turning but rather cut directly across in front of the bus and out of the field of vision of the driver. (You know those updated school buses that have that arm that swings when letting the kids off that forces them to walk in front of the bus wide so the driver can see them? That's how far she should have gone. Instead she went like an 1/8 of that distance)

Basically she was a stupid biker. I don't understand why people can't at the very least wear a helmet that way if they do get hit because they didn't take the extra saftey measures, at least they stand a better chance of survival. This is why I refused to ride my bike at night. Even if I had the reflective gear and a light, I still fear that drivers would not see me and that I would get hit. So am I being a cold hearted bitch for believing she got what she deserved had there been an accident? Absolutely, but it's also true.

Mood:  surprised
Topic: School
As you might recall, I took my Analysis midterm on Friday and was not too happy about it. We were getting them back today and I prepared myself for the worst: I brought tissues and comfort food with me. Here's what happened:

[Shapiro] *hands me the test sort of folded over* I think you'll be surprised.
[Me] *takes folded exam* I doubt it.
[Me] *opens it, reads score* Okay, I'm VERY surprised!

I got a 91! Ninety-fucking-one! I was so extremely exitced. I mean I thought I did better than the first test because I knew the definitions a bit better but I was expecting a 70 or so. Instead I got 21 points higher than expected. The four people who found out my actual score were pretty amazed as well. It did put me in a good mood despite the circumstances (and yes I feel guilty for my good mood).

At the very least, I now know the best study method for the class:
- Copy the theorems and definitions out of the book, separate them and focus on the ones don't already know or are supper dupper important.
-Look over workshop note sheets.
-Work on problems.
You'll notice that there is no mention of reviewing my notes. I didn't look at them at all for this time. Ironic, no?

Anyway...Yay! I stand of chance of passing 412 since I got an A- on the midterm!

Quote of the (yester)Day!
Mood:  silly
Topic: Work
My co-worker Jeff picked up a call from a graduated student who couldn't get into their e-mail account.

[Jeff] Well, I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that your accout was deleted.......Wait, did I just say that was good news?

That made me laugh for a good 10 minutes. In fact I was laughing so hard I was crying. Heck, it still cracks me up.

nothing like an apartment crisis to keep one up at 2am
Mood:  don't ask
Topic: Apartment
The good news is that the bathroom floor, shower and toilet have now gotten the cleaning they've been needing.

The fucktacular bad news is that it was because the toilet overflowed while I was trying to plunge it. I tried toget some more water in the bowl to actually plunge with and the chain got stuck or something cause it just kept filling. In a little over an hour, I've managed to soak up all the toilet water, clean the bathroom floor and clean the shower floor. Comet is currently sitting in the toilet for another 5 minutes.

I still have to clean up downstairs. Yes, you read right: downstairs. The water fucking leaking through. Fortunately, it was in the kitchen with linolium and not really over the carpet. Also somewhat fortunately it ran toward the back wall under the oven. The unfortunate part was that it looked like it came through a cabinet over the fridge. Which means I'll have to move the fridge to get it all. I'm currently waiting for my towels to dry before I do that though. I put them in for 40 minutes and they were still damp. I just fucking washed all of them too.

Oh yes, on top of all this, I still have to finish my essay. The good news is that last I checked I had over 400 words (500 minimum). Bad news is that was for one body paragraph. I still need the other body paragraph (which will now be like half of one), the introduction and the conclusion.

As my friend Dave would say: "Crap on a crap cracker."

Current Mood: rushed

Halloween
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: 'N Sync: I Want You Back
Topic: Friends
My costume this year was Elphaba. Leigh was the only one to get that it was Elphaba aka Wicked Witch of the West before all of Oz hated her. Anyway, I had the hat, green pants, green shirt, a dark navy blue "frock," green gloves, green makeup and green lipstick. I think I had a pretty acurate portrayal for the scene in the play I was going for.

Anyway, there was a party at Leigh, Matt, Steve, Andrew and Travis' today from 4pm to about 10pm. Aside from us six, the others that showed up at somepoint or another were: Bridget, Gianna, Ilsa, Jessica, Dave, Joe, Lisa, Sun, Shane, and Leigh's girlfriend Ashley. We hung out and had some strawberry margaritas (courtsey of me and my four month old supply), orange julius, some veggies, some chips and some candy. Later we had some Papa Murphy pizza?I actually ate a slice of the combo one (usually I'm a strictly cheese girl)?and some pie. Ilsa had brought some pumpkins so she, Matt, Jessica and Dave carved them. I liked Ilsa's first one the best, she made it a one-eyes devil. It was really good. We also watched Boondock Saints since Ashley had not seen it. It might become a Halloween tradition since we also watched it last year. After that, hung out some more. When the conversation started to turn slightly silent, all the girls sans Ashley took off.

It was a good night and I had a lot of fun.H

Not only did I not pass...
Topic: School
my second attempt at the WPE but I now qualify for a special English class (that in no other way counts toward my degree)

ENGL 115 Graduation Writing Requirement Preparation
(4) (CR/NC) Writing practice of extemporaneous expository and argumentative essays under time pressure. Discussion and application of rhetorical and grammatical principles through critical reading of student and professional essays. Satisfactory completion of the course fulfills the Graduate Writing Requirement. Not for baccalaureate credit. Credit/No Credit grading only. 4 lectures. Prerequisite: At least two unsuccessful attempts at the GWR.

Cushing took me aside after class today to an office for one of the GWR people to get me the call number for the class. It's offered TR 5-7 next quarter. So in addition to Analysis II, some GE, and my senior project next quarter, I'll have this stress maker on top of it. I said at the end of Spring 2003 that I would never again take 16 units. Why don't I just drop the GE course and take this bullshit class so I'm down to 12 units you ask? Because I need 12 *graded* units. This fucking special class is credit/no credit only. There's only one way that I can avoid signing up for it: pass the last attempt in my current class in December. Cushing is giving me (and just me as I was the only one to fail *twice*) a third chance on the last day of class.

I would like to take a moment and reiterate my sentiments about the GWR:
Piece of fucking crap that only serves as a measure of how well you can write bullshit on the spot and promotes an unethical skill. A requirement that is only useful if planning on entering a career in which you must constantly write under time pressure.

*ahem*

Well, that should be the last you hear about the GWR for a couple weeks. But I won't promise that.

I got my third English essay and the results of the WPE back today. The WPE was as expected: a no pass. I was closer on the word count though, 430. My professor thought I "wast[ed] half the period recopying" my essay. Apparently he missed my attempt to ADD to the essay. To make it LONGER. Whatever. Third attempt will be on the last day of class. I'll probably be the only one.

Anyway, on to the essay which is the point of this entry. In my opinion, my essays have been getting worse. Maybe it's the fact that they are getting finished closer and closer to the due time, I dunno. But according to Cushing, I'm getting *better.* The latest craptastic essay that I pulled straight out of my ass got a B+.

So apparently the way to get an A on an essay is to have no idea what you're talking about, make up a bunch of bullshit and find quotes that some how relate to your bullshit and put nice, fluffy words around it. Because that's all I'm doing. Too bad this kind of thing doesn't fly in the real world.