College class do-over

So I’m a little bit of a nerd and actually miss learning interesting new things in classes. What I don’t miss is having to be there all the time, homework, papers, and tests. While I’m not entirely sure how it works, I am very, very, very excited to have found the OpenCourseWare Consortium through this article on Boston.com.

From what I can gather, professors at registered institutions around the world post their class syllabi, readings, and even some course lectures (in audio and video format) online for the world to see. For free. I’m in love. You can browse by topic, department, or college/university and from what I can tell already, you’re bound to find something you find interesting. With colleges like Notre Dame, MIT, Paris Tech, and the Mathematical Insitute at Oxford University, you know you’re getting top-rate direction.

What confuses me is that the syllabi and grading rubrics are posted, but I was under the impression that it was a self-guided sort of effort. Must research more.

All I know is that the Philosophy of Death; German I; the Linguistics of Bilingualism; and Crime, Insanity, and Heredity in American History are all calling my name.

Summer love

I’ll be the first to admit that summer really isn’t my favorite overall season. Shocker, I know. I love, love, love the changing New England seasons, and winter is my favorite. The lovely Meg Fowler, in her all her listing glory, has come up with another winner that I plan to steal for my own blog. She doesn’t mind.

What I love about summer

• Mini golf and ice cream at Richardson’s
• Summer dresses
• Sitting out on the porch with a cold beer (Sam Adams Summer Ale preferred) and a good book
• Margaritas
• Summer nights after hot days
• The smell of rain on hot pavement
• Grilling everything
• Ice cream all the time
• Flip flops
• Bare feet
• Sunshine
• Riding in The Jeep with the top down and doors off
• Weekend trips
• Spending time at Ossippee Lake, NH
• Going out on the boat and sitting at the sand bar all day
• The drive-in at Weirs Beach, NH
• Fans running
• Watermelon
• Stretching the office dress code (in a still-professional manner, of course)
• Windows open at night
• Tan lines
• Relay For Life
• Hammocks
• Going to the beach at night (Singing Beach in Manchester-by-the-Sea in particular)

What do you love about summer?

Alternative Love Songs

There’s nothing like a good mixtape to show your love. Except we don’t have tapes anymore. So a good mix.

Moving on. The BF and I don’t listen to much by way of pop music, as I’m sure I’ve mentioned before. We’re big fans of alternative rock… some indie, some more mainstream, and some that even blurs the line into pop. So here are some of my favorites– I encourage you to read the lyrics to most of them, since they’re surprisingly sweet.

• Yellow, Coldplay
• Everlong, Foo Fighters
• Miracle, Foo Fighters
• Just Like Heaven, The Cure
• I Will Follow You into the Dark, Death Cab For Cutie
• Crack the Shutters, Snow Patrol (“Chasing Cars” isn’t bad, either, but it’s overdone.)
• Question, Old 97′s (I cry just about every time I hear this song… what a sap.)
• My Best Friend, Weezer
• Echo, Incubus
• Stellar, Incubus
• Lovesong, 311 or The Cure
• Friday I’m in Love, The Cure
• Stir it Up, Bob Marley
• Fix You, Coldplay
• Invincible, Muse
• Til Kingdom Come, Coldplay (Mean-spirited fact: I’m glad Johnny Cash never got a hold of this song.)
• Hard to Concentrate, Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Such Great Heights, The Postal Service

I’ll be updating as I remember more and go “D’OH!” I’m an unexpectedly sappy music nerd. Do you have any more to share?

Things I Love

I really like Meg Fowler’s blog, and I follow her on Twitter, too. Never met her, but she seems like a really cool gal and has a fun online personality. So I stole this from her.

1. Song you love

“Yellow” by Coldplay is one of my all-time favorites. So is “Everlong,” by the Foo Fighters. I’ve seen them both performed live, and I’m reduced to a pile of mush every time.
2. Book you love

All of the Harry Potter series. I recently realized that I regard the characters as old friends, and I love that.
3. Type of cuisine you love

Mexican.
4. Beverage you love

A good craft-brewed hefeweizen beer.
5. Cookie you love

My mom’s chocolate chip cookies on the first day of school and my variation on them with cranberries and almonds.
6. Ice cream flavour you love

Rocky road and Phish Food.
7. Place you love to go

Anywhere with mountains. I always feel safe in the mountains, whether it’s New Hampshire, Vermont, or Colorado.
8. Thing you love to drive

Any car with a stick shift, since I feel like I should be in a chase scene in a spy movie.
9. Place you love to live

Good ol’ Middlesex League I’m loving our apartment right now– it’s really us.
10. Movie you love

“The Wedding Singer.”
11. Time in your life you loved

Now is kind of wicked awesome.
12. Person you love

The BF, naturally.
13. Cute picture of a baby animal you love (provide link)

I just want to eat him up: Teddy the Dachshund.
14. Item of clothing you love most (that you own)

My Steamboat sweatpants.
15. Way of relaxing you love best

For the summer: in a hammock with a book and a cold beer. For the winter: on the couch wrapped up in a blanket with a book and a Bailey’s-spiked hot cocoa. I might never remember what I read, but I have a good time anyway.

Question…

Who do I talk to regarding making “if I had a dollar every time I…” a reality?

‘Cause I could use some dollars for forgetting to attach the referenced attachments in an email.

Ohmigawd.

CELEBRITY SIGHTING!!!!!!

You have to understand… I never see anyone cool. I’m always at the wrong place at the wrong time. I miss them by seconds. I see not-so-much celebrities (like Real World/Road Rules people) only very rarely.

Not today. I would like to thank the state of Massachusetts for giving major tax breaks to film production companies. Bless your hearts.

I work on Summer Street heading toward Southie in Boston. The day I came in for my second round of interviews, Bruce Willis was in the neighborhood filming. Every now and then, I see the crew signs on lightposts.

Today, in the building right next to my office, Paramount was filming The Company Men, starring Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Chris Cooper, and Tommy Lee Jones. A coworker and I decided to head out and watch the goings-on for a while right after lunch. We hung out for a while and not much happened, then…

TOMMY LEE FREAKING JONES IS ON THE SIDEWALK IN FRONT OF ME. He stumbled a little on the sidewalk, poor guy, but it’s not like I don’t trip on the sidewalk every damn day (they’re super-crappy), then he climbed into a white Navigator with Texas plates. And he was gone!

But before he climbed into the Navigator, he was like 10 feet away from me, and I was trying not to smile like an idiot and had my hands clamped to my sides so that I wasn’t waving like a fool (he didn’t look like he was in such a good mood).

So that’s my celebrity sighting of the day, and I’m still jazzed about it.

Baby names

I was tooling around on Boston.com for a little bit when I came across this article: “Barack rising fast on baby names list.” I think it makes perfect sense. We all know how I wanted the campaign to end and that I was pleased with the results. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with naming your child after a historic president. I might have waited a few years, until I knew what his legacy would be, but I can appreciate the sentiment.

What I get a kick out of is the comments section on this particular piece. Massachusetts is one of the most liberal states in the Union. From what I’ve heard, there’s not a single district that voted Republican this last time around (I’m not 100% sure, so don’t quote me on it). Yet every single conservative seems to have found him/herself commenting on this light-hearted piece. (I personally find more issue with people naming their daughters after Khloe Kardashian, a reality TV “star” and convicted drunk driver, but that’s just me.)

To the people who make the comments along the lines of, “this is news? No wonder the Globe is tanking,” I have this to say to you: it’s on the front page of Boston.com because a whole lot of people are emailing it to their friends. It’s part of a column, a journalistic device not necessarily known for its hard-hitting news coverage. Columns focus on regular topics, like politics or cooking or advice. No, it’s not news. Get over it. No one forced you to read it.

To the conservative crazies coming out of the woodwork freaking out about Obama destroying the United States: save your vitriol. You sound desperate and pathetic. You don’t like the way the government’s run? Then you run for office. Too lazy for public office? Move. There are plenty of other countries on this little Earth of ours. Take your negative, name-calling antics to a conservative discussion board and bash away. You’ll find a receptive audience of your peers to listen and back you up.

*steps down from soapbox*

PS- if you’re curious, I like the name James (called James, not Jim or Jimmy or Jimbo) and William (called Will, not Bill or Billy). And Elisabeth and Rose. Combined with family names like Robert and Barbara and Ann. But I have plenty of time to think about it.

I’m a bad blogger…

This always happens to me, though… I start off a blog going full steam ahead with all these grandiose ideas, then I get busy and forget all about it. Whoops.

Sold the house

So in big news in my life, my parents have sold their house. They had an open house on Sunday, 5/3, from 11-3. The people who bought the house came by at 11:30, and gave an offer by noon. That’s all she wrote! I was really nervous about the whole prospect of my home being sold… after all, I’d lived there since seventh grade. For all intents and purposes, I did most of my growing up there. I’ll definitely miss it. There’s plenty of good news in this situation, though: (1) they got full asking price, (2) it wasn’t a painfully drawn-out process, (3) the family who bought it has lived in the town for years and years, and we’ve known them for a long time, (4) the huband/father of the family recently retired as the fire chief in the town, and guess what– the BF’s on the list to be a fire fighter in the town. They were all super-excited to have finally found their dream house, and there are good vibes all around. It’s a nice feeling.

Earning my paycheck

This week, I’ve felt like I’m actually earning my paycheck at work. I’ve been busy learning and experimenting on campaigns, and so far, I’m enjoying the work. I know I’ll probably get bored of it eventually, but it’s a great change for now. I got a new computer yesterday, so I’m happy as a clam. Never understood that phrase, but there you have it.

Finally found a bathing suit

I’ve been looking around in stores and online for a while trying to find a new bathing suit for the summer. I want a slightly pinup-style suit that’s both cute and functional. I wanted a halter top with a wide band under the bust and  non-tie bottoms with decent coverage. Lucky for me, Victoria’s Secret was having a 25% off sale on swimwear, and I capitalized on it. Here’s the suit I ordered, except I got the solid “dusty coral” color and scoop bottoms. I wanted the belted bottoms, but they only came in the coral pattern with white. Unnecessary note: my boobs will never look like that. Sad. I got some pants, too– these ones in sandcastle and these ones in sand dune. Linen pants are always nice in the summer, and I don’t really have any khakis, so there you have it.