Merry Christmas!

(via Schmutzie)

Off.

Okay guys, I turned in my last final today. So that means I'm officially on WINTER BREAK! YES! GOD it's like the biggest, best Friday of all.

To celebrate (?) I'm going to Dubai and India for three weeks with my family to, I don't know, shop and stuff. I'm pretty unclear. I will be bringing my Flip camera along, so I will be sure to actually upload footage from this trip! I was told that there would be internet access, so I MAY be uploading them regularly. If not, however, I will be checking my email at the very least, so feel free to email and comment to your heart's content. I'm leaving tonight, and will be back on January 6th.

Then, on January 7th, I'm going to LA to visit my boyfriend until the 19th. Marion may or may not come for a weekend too. I don't know if I'll be posting those weeks either, but I will definitely be Tweeting insane amounts as soon as I get back to domestic cell phone coverage.

Okay, I'm all packed and ready to go, so I'm gonna take a nap. Be good while I'm gone and I may bring you back...some sand. Kissies!

Listen Up

Alright babies, let me do you a huge favor. You may not agree with it, but this is how it's going to be, okay? You'll resist as much as possible, but soon you'll grow to love it.

No, I'm not moving in with your mom (though she did make a very convincing argument last night). Yet.

I'm putting up a couple of links on the left for you to entertain yourself with while I'm out of town for the next few weeks. I'll be traveling in Dubai and India from December 16th to January 6th, so please, enjoy www.dismissedblog.com and www.failblog.com. Some of you knew about one, some of you knew about the other...but I'm pretty sure none of you knew about both. But now you do.

You're welcome.

Financial Advice from 2006 That is Still Spookily Relevant

And on that note, I'm going to take my Macroeconomics final! Timely!

Testing Poll

Hey guys, just trying something out. Usually when I make a poll it stays in the upper-left-hand corner of the page and nobody votes on it because I think they can't see it. So I'm including a poll here to see if it gets more attention...though, at the rate that I post it will disappear in a couple of days, so we'll have to come up with a better solution at some point. Anyway, this is a random poll just to see what it looks like and the results don't mean anything, but vote away!

poll by twiigs.com

I love "your mom" jokes. So much.

Kyle says: what are you eating?

priya says: a brownie

Kyle says: hmmm.

priya says: breakfast of champions!

Kyle says: not impressed, baby.
Kyle says: eat better!

priya says: i could always call your mom over...

Kyle says: i hate you.

priya says: hahahahaha

Mantra

Marion and I have a favourite saying. It is: "A little self-awareness, please!" And we use it when someone is being stupid in really obvious, uncreative ways. A really good example is the time we were eating lunch somewhere and we overheard a girl talking about how rent in New York is exorbitant (well, she didn't use that word, but...), "probably because so many people want to be there!" REALLY, ASSHOLE?

Anyway. I find myself repeating our mantra so much these days. It's not very much in the holiday spirit, but it's very much an effect the holiday season has on me. I'm not very charitable. Hence my reaction to this headline on MSN.com:



Um, maybe if you didn't look like such a recently paroled ex-con? Just sayin'.

This brings up a whole other rant (which I will keep short) on why guys come to me for advice on how to snag "a cool girl" when they know I'm just going to keep giving them the same advice:
1. get rid of the creative facial hair, like, forever
2. stop quoting The Big Lebowski (also forever), and
3. wear a tie and iron your shirts.
As a matter of fact, just stop doing everything you think is fun or cool for a while. When we've warmed up to you you can slowly reintroduce things you're interested in. Hey, don't look at me like that - you wanted to know. And don't think you're the only one who has to sacrifice to get laid: we have to pretend that we think you're funny. And that's a pain in the ass, too. So, barring self-awareness, wear a tie. It will probably work, and then you can fucking thank me.

Nocturnal

One thing I love about Mindy Kaling is the way she can take a secret sentiment and express it in a way that's plain and unapologetic, all while also being fun about it so you don't get too weirded out. A good example is the blurb she wrote about one of the items on her holiday shopping suggestions list:

I am really bad at skating, she writes, and I have countless scrapes and bad memories from doing it. However, nothing says you think of your girl like a sexy pre-teen ingenue than a pair of dope skates. Price: $70 at fredflare.com

"...a sexy, pre-teen ingenue". She's essentially saying that women (yes, I mean "women") want to be 12-year-olds. I'm pretty sure that Feminism rails against this with all its power, and yet...I can attest to the truth of the sentiment. I sometimes feel that way! I want to be all lanky and and quirky and carefree and shit. Like Kate Moss when she was 14, not like me when I was 14 (oh Jesus no thank you) - that idealized, fetishized Lolita.

And P.S.: None of that is to mention the scientific ramifications of wanting to be 12. That's the secret behind starving ourselves, wearing lipstick/ mascara/ eyeliner/ eyeshadow, wanting long legs and small hips. We sort of want to be young. Younger than that. No, younger than that, too. I won't bore you with the details, but if you don't know them already, you should look them up. You will never look at yourself or (if you're not one) women the same way again. In a kind of strange, yeah-you-think-too-much way.

Another thing to love about Mindy is how completely accidentally thought-provoking she can be. I wish I could get my hands on a tape of Matt & Ben.

Holiday Cheer

Alright you guys: I just read a post on Dad Gone Mad (no, I still haven't figured out what the fuck is up with my links - John? Lauren? A little help here? - but you can see the post here: http://www.dadgonemad.com/2008/12/operation.html) that really motivated me to start being more active in my blogging life.

Danny, the author of Dad Gone Mad, wrote about Operation: Comment Your Balls/Boobs Off! (Depending On Your Gender), which is something he invented to make everyone feel better about how shitty everything is right now. The Operation is where you go and comment your balls or your boobs off at the blogs you read, through January 1st, 2009. The point is to spread a little cheer in these difficult times, because, as Danny said, the currency of blogging is Comments. When you comment on someone's blog - especially if that someone is blogging for an audience of five (like, uh...me!) - you can brighten their day more than you know. Every time one of you guys posts here it's like a little point of light in my soul, making me toasty inside. Spread the toasty.

And comment here, too, of course. Always comment here. I know I've been crapping out on meaningful shit to say here lately, but I promise I will do my part if you do yours.

By the way, I just installed some statcounter code in my template so I know you're all lurking out there. Or the same five of you are visiting four to ten times a day each and I sincerely doubt that. Even if there is just a rogue sixth out there, make yourself known! Or I'll fucking piss in your eggnog.

Reenactment

Here's a video I did with Lauren and John after I taught them how to use Video GChat (which they demanded after they saw my last post). They're helping me recreate one of the best movie scenes of 2008.


Classic from Priya on Vimeo.

You can't hear John, but he eventually says "oh, that's disgusting!" at the appropriate juncture.

Luddite Unite

So I wouldn't say that I'm a Luddite in the sense that I hate technology, I'm more of a Luddite in the sense that technology keeps advancing and that's incredibly frustrating because I can only be bothered to learn like two or three new technology-related concepts a year. BUT sometimes it can be super fun too, and give you a lot to think about. For example, Marion went to Massachusetts today to visit her friend Tom, and we decided that we should try using video GChat. It works pretty well. And since I was so stoked on that, I decided that I would take a video of us using GChat. So here is a video of us video-chatting, or whatever you call it.


Meta Video from Priya on Vimeo

Yeah, we're pretty much watching the music video for "Total Eclipse of the Heart". In unison. Before I started filming we were singing and dancing to it, too.

The Very Good Taste Omnivore's 100

I'm doing this because Kyle thinks I'm a really picky eater, and I don't. I've eaten a lot of things on this list so he can just SUCK it!

Here’s what I want you to do:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp I can't imagine eating a giant goldfish. It seems barbaric.
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho This is fucking amazing.
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi A-LOO GO-BI!
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries Raspberries grow behind my great-uncle's house in Regina.
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese I know too much about what this is and how it's obtained.
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float Oh man. MEMORIES!
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea "Clotted" makes me gag but as I remember it, this was delicious.
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O I didn't like all the tongue involvement, though.
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (I didn't think unintentional consumption counted so I left this unbolded.)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu - Man, whoever eats this has some balls.
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini I didn't like it.
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips A poor substitute.
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads - I'm pretty sure this is the same thing as Head Cheese.
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs But they made me sad.
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake OH FUCK YES.
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain * delirious moaning*
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie This made me sad too.
78. Snail I love how they called everything else by its fancy name but this gets "snail". The indignity. At least call it Escargot.
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict I tried them for the first time after Runaway Bride came out, as they were a pivotal plot point.
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef I think I have to enstate a moratorium on this...I don't know if I can morally side with eating an animal that has a better life than I do.
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse - I read once that this was a really tasty meat. But I haven't had the opportunity to try it.
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Plans

I'm lazy and uninspired right now. I tried writing something today, like, "creative writing" or whatever, and it just turned out to be a personal manifesto. It was like, "She disdained most and admired only the top 1% of anything" and I was like, oh, that sounds strangely like ME. They say 'write what you know,' but I would hope that I know more than what goes on directly inside my own mind. So I abandoned that. I think I may not be cut out for fiction writing, since it requires creativity and stuff. Kyle and I had a conversation yesterday about how he had this insane dream and I told him that I can only dream in concepts which already exist: even my craziest dream ever (which I had only because I happened to be on malaria medication at the time) involved elephants, zebras, and fuzzy brown balls. All of those thing exist already. Kyle then told me about his dream and spent ten minutes describing the alien spacecraft/hovering camera/reality show element which appeared in it.

Then I decided that I should study for my 19th Century Novel final tomorrow. But then I said nevermind. Then I thought I should study for my Macro final which takes place on Monday (and I really do legitimately need to study for that), and then I decided nevermind on that one too. I need a nap. Well, I don't need one. I just kind of want one.

Then I talked to Kyle for an hour just now. I'm going to go visit him for 2 weeks in mid-January, thank god. I can't wait to see him, and all my LA friends, and all the smugly familiar LA landmarks. I'm trying to convince Marion, Lauren and John to go too, just for a weekend, for funsies, but they all gave me the same answer, "we'll see". Yeah, we'll see, alright. WE'LL SEE. Ooh, sorry about that; sometimes when I lose an argument I get threatening for no reason.

Hmm, what else? Well, I did just talk to Kyle for an hour so I guess I better start writing those damn econ notes. Wish me luck.

The The Impotence of Proofreading

This is what it's like to read papers in my English class. NOT YOUR SECOND LANGUAGE, PEOPLE. NO EXCUSE.



(courtesy of Schmutzie)

Little Photoshop of Horrors

You guys, I was just jacking around on the internet and I found this picture of Paris Hilton. I would love to stay and talk about this, but I just wasted 9 hours watching Dexter, I have two papers due tomorrow (one of which I haven't, um...started), and I'd like to get to bed before 3 tonight. So I will just have to dump this trash on you and run away screaming into the night, towards a paper about a Gender Studies examination of The Great Gatsby. Ah, college. Here we go:



Okay, I'll make JUST ONE COMMENT: I'm pretty sure they photoshopped that cameltoe into the picture. That makes no sense. That can't possibly be what happened. And yet...how do you look at a picture of Paris Hilton without first checking to see if her vagina's hanging out? Someone definitely did this deliberately. And that makes me sad.

Okay okay, LAST THING

Here's a clip from last night's SNL...It's mostly funny because the word "jizz" always makes me laugh. I think they should try to do a song in "garage"...you know, the kind of music that The Streets does? Anyway, the point is that I think they'd do a hilarious job of it.



Ugh JUSTIN, do you have to be in everything!? Yes, yes he does.

Weekend Update: I Should Be STUDYING! Edition

On Friday, Mike texted me and said he was going to be in town with his band (The Hit), so Marion and I made like good friends and drove all the way out to Cypress to see him play. We seriously drove for an hour to get there. WTF, Mike's band's tour organizers? There's more to tell you, but Marion and I took my Flip camera out for a spin and I can show you instead!
These are mostly little random clips, but I think you get the general idea of everything. My theory is that we don't know how to get good footage yet, and the more we practice, the better it'll be. See, I knew there was a reason I got the camera three months before SXSW! Anyway, without further ado...The Java Junction Videos!

Here, Marion gives you our first impressions of the venue and its clientele.

Java Junction Introduction from Priya on Vimeo.

Marion and I comment more on the audience and we stare at the 12 year old onstage. Listen to him singing. It's so cute.

12 Years Old from Priya on Vimeo.

The 12 Year Old introduces The Hit and some other bands, I'm PSYCHED! and Marion talks about 10 year olds kissing. Shudder.

The Hit Introduction from Priya on Vimeo.

We introduce you to the decor of Java Junction between sets.

Inside Java Junction from Priya on Vimeo.

Marion tells you the story of how she didn't have to pay $10 for a wristband.

Marion's Java Junction Story from Priya on Vimeo.

And here's a little clip of The Hit playing. They put on a surprisingly good show. Marion and I decided we wanted to take the keyboardist home in our collective pocket (he's the one in the yellow shirt).

The Hit: just a hit from Priya on Vimeo.

So that was the show. Afterwards, Marion and I went to Poison Girl and drank for a bit, and then went to meet Mike & Co at his house. A couple of other bands came too, so it was kind of a swordfight, but we had an okay time watching Pimp My Ride with them. We also watched a couple of really scary internet videos (like one where a guy puts a glass jar in his butt and it breaks and blood comes out all over the place and oh god). Good times in traumatization.

Last night Marion and I went to see Andy Rourke (the bassist for The Smiths) DJ at the Meridian. The club set him up in a room that could have handled more than 100 people and only 10 people showed up. That was depressing. But more depressing than that was the fact that Marion and I were the only people dancing. And because we felt like we came to support Andy and everything, we felt bad about leaving the dance floor, and because we felt bad about leaving the dance floor, we danced for like 2 and 1/2 hours straight. I used to do this, you know, in my youth, but I'm out of practice and creaky now. My feet hurt.

Here's a video of how empty the club was.

Waiting for Andy from Priya on Vimeo.

Andy was a good sport about it, I guess, but when Marion and I tried to shout at him and tell him to go to The Mink next time (we had to shout because he was up on a stage and there was a crowd barrier, AND The Mink is where I saw him last time he was in town), he looked at us like, "okay, drunk girls!" Marion said, "it's more intimate there! People will come and see you!" and he said something like "yeah, intimacy, that's what I need right now." All inscrutable and English. FINE THEN. So I guess Andy and I are going through a rough patch right now, but I'm sure next time he comes to Houston we'll kiss (twice!) and make up.

And today begins the cram time before my macroeconomics final. It's next Monday, so I have a week to make this happen. YAY ECON! Kill me.

The End of the World

You guys, I just stumbled upon this during one of my random forays into the internet, and I have to say that this is the most convincing sign I've seen lately that the world is ending. You all know that I think almost everything is a sign that the world is ending (I mean, when you think about it, the fact that the world itself exists is a sign that the world is ending), so the idea that this picture is particularly convincing should alarm you.



I cut this picture (with my handy "snipping tool"!) off a website that was hawking it for $9.99. It's half a pound of gummy material, and it comes in green and red, too. Just so you know. In case you were interested.

Four Years

Yesterday, Kyle and I "celebrated" our four-year anniversary. I put celebrated in scare quotes like that because we're on opposite coasts and that's pretty depressing. FOUR YEARS, though. I know I say this every year, but I can't fucking believe that.

Last night I went out to stave off depression and a friend and I talked about her grandmother. Her husband passed away earlier this year, so since then Grandma has been living alone in Sugarland (for those of you who are not familiar, Sugarland is really far away from Houston proper, so it's a pain in the ass for someone who lives in the city to get out there on short notice). It's been very emotionally straining for everyone in the family because she's been really lonely all the way out there. We talked about the fact that she probably felt really lost because it's a very comforting feeling to know that somewhere out there, you can depend on one person to be there for you. For her whole adult life, my friend's grandmother could depend on her husband, and now he was gone.

I know that feeling. The first part, anyway. I know, almost on a cellular level, that Kyle will be on my side, no matter what the situation. It's empowering (in a way) to be supported in literally every thing you do, without even really needing to ask. It gives me license to be who I want to be. I think now we're doing pretty well, but I also know that someday I'll look back on this and revel at how underdeveloped we are as a couple. I can't wait to be in a place where our connection now could be deemed basic, but until then, I just have to sit back and try to believe I could be so lucky.

Happy Anniversary, baby. Here's to four(ty) more.

GEICO

Is it wrong that the "...and I lost control of my bowels!" line made me fall out of my chair? OH MY GOD I miss Maya's Whitney.

The Prop 8 Musical

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Love the cameos. And the singing's actually pretty good. What's up with La Rudolph doing that stilted-speech-impediment thing she always does though? I don't get what it's supposed to be other than "funny talking".

If she doesn't scare you, no evil thing will!

My brother just came in here asking about Cruella De Ville for some reason and I surprised myself by knowing: the lyrics to her theme song, the instrument for which it was written, and the fact that she and Mrs. Dearly were college roommates (later I looked it up and discovered that Cruella was kicked out of school for drinking ink...?). I thought I had outgrown this, but apparently not.

And yes, I'm filing this under Pop Culture.

Stack the Memory

And here's where my obvious weakness for white boys in ties rapping about computers comes into play. ("Computers...VIRUSES?!" Oh my fucking shit I miss Luke.)

Vending Machine Fail

This is made even more incredible because the guy filming is egging him on so excitedly. Do it do it do it hahaha.



I bet the camera guy ran away while the kicker guy thrashed around in a pool of his own blood.

Also, I seem to be on a roll with everyday blogging, so I'm just gonna keep going with this and see how long I can go without breaking stride. Fuxx yeah.

ROOOOMBAAA!

Here's a video of a kitty riding a Roomba! The title of the video says that the cat is "driving" the Roomba but that's bullshit because there's no steering involved either. And is it just me, or is a Roomba the least efficient tool EVER? Besides Lieberman, of course. He's the most inefficient tool of all OH NOT VERY TIMELY HUMOR IS STILL PRETTY FUNNY TO ME OUT OF SHEER INEPTNESS!!!!



No, I couldn't think of a title for this post. Shut up! If you want clever titles go visit John's blog! What's that? His last post was titled "Hurr Derr More Politics"? I apologize.

California Driving

To be fair though, this is pretty much what it was like even before the law went into effect.

Sicky Baby Exhaustion

You guys! I don't have a lot of time so I'm going to do this one all numbered-paragraph style.

1. I actually fucking managed to complete NaBloPoMo this year and it wasn't the back-breaking struggle of dragging a donkey uphill like it was last year! That's fucking incredible. And I'm super-stoked on myself for having managed it.

2. I did my fool-proof method for breaking a fever after I posted yesterday and the fever totally broke! Then I completed the second step (a shower) this morning, and I feel exactly 95% better than I did last night (my throat feels a little sore still)! HAHA suck on that, haters!

3. Holy shit it's December! Finals start next week, and that makes me feel a little queasy. On the 5th, Kyle and I will be celebrating our FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY. Also, I guess this means I'm no longer "ahead of schedule" with my Christmas presents. Now I'm just "a little behind schedule" like everyone else.

4. Thanksgiving break is over, which means that I have to go back to classes today. I can hardly believe it. I pretty much spent the entire break either mind-erasingly drunk or hung over, and I guess I'm glad I got to experience that, in a "good old college days" kind of way, but...fuck. I'm not going to do it ANY MORE. I'm pretty sure all that alcohol was the reason I was sick last night, and also, staying out till 5AM four nights this week basically screwed with my sleep-schedule so thoroughly that if I hadn't been sick last night and gone to bed early, I would have slept right through my classes today and the very thought makes me nervous.

And on that note, I should go get ready for class (ie. put some pants on and find my economics textbook). Remember to check my Twitter page for ongoing commentary on how little I missed hanging out with all the fucking freshmen in my Econ class.