Home Means Nevada, part 4.

So, Reno is not exactly the class capital of the world, but I think there are certain aspects of this town that really exemplify the city's stranger aspects. On the surface, Bizarre Guitar seems like it should probably just be your typical if mildly seedy independent guitar/drum type of music store. You know, it's in kind of a grungy building in a kind of grungy area and the employees all seem a little sketchy and like they probably all have criminal records. But still, nothing too special. But there's more! I'm bummed that their website (www.bizarreguitar.com) doesn't reflect the more interesting aspect of their business, but this here video does. The first bit is the ad they air in Reno, and is really the main bit that's worth watching.

I don't know if I'm the only person who finds this incredibly amusing, but in addition to selling all their guitars and whatnot, they also have a large selection of guns. I guess judging by the owner's appearance, this shouldn't be all that surprising. Nonetheless, I think a store dealing in guitars and guns is a pretty distinctly 'Reno' thing. Pretty cool, huh?

Do shut up.

Megan Fox, please leave Scarlett Johanssen alone. I can't really be bothered about finding quotes and sources on this right now, but I've stumbled across several articles in which Megan Fox is quoted  as criticizing Scarlett for pulling out every SAT word she knows in order to make people take her seriously. What. From what I can gather Miss Johanssen is a very intelligent lady and, y'know, there are people who use an extended vocabulary without thinking about it. They exist. I think she should be applauded for not dumbing herself down for the public. Megan Fox seems to have some strange ideas, I think. I do not approve and I want her to go away and stop complaining about smart people.

*grumble*

Despite all my efforts over the past years, I'm not really that much of a geek. I'm not exactly sure what criteria I'd be required to meet in order to achieve geek status and I'm too lazy to find out the exact specifications, much less actually live up to them. Anyway, that's not the point here. The point is, I'm not a huge geek and more importantly, I'm not a huge Star Wars geek. (Plus, everyone knows that Star Trek is vastly superior.) I love the original movies, yes, but the extent of my Star Wars knowledge comes pretty much only from repeated viewings of Episodes IV-VI. Anyway, none of that is the point either. All I'm trying to say here is that despite my lack of geekiness or dedication to the world of Star Wars fandom, few things annoy me more than reading "Hans Solo." It's Han. Yes, when you say "Han Solo" it sort of sounds like "Hans Solo," but let's not make excuses here, people. Get it together.

...again with the Klingons!

I've returned from my trip to Germany and Holland. It was the first time I'd been to continental Europe in about 12 years. I mostly just spent all my time there visiting family and friends, which was sort of nice but it would have been cool to see some more sights. That's ok! Loafing and eating is a nice way to spent a few weeks, especially because it meant a whole lot of hagelslag, stroopwafels, krokets, various types of cheese, brötchen... all sorts of stuff. Mmmmhmmmmm. I think my brain has started to rot a little, though, because I can't think of anything interesting to say at all. That being said, German television is amazing because every show seems to have musical interludes. I was watching this cooking show that kept taking breaks for bad music videos (sort of) with this woman singing to mustachioed gentlemen. When she wasn't singing she seemed to be sampling food. Patrick Lindner (this German folk singer guy) was on this show also. Yeah. I was also watching this show called "Verstehen Sie Spaß" which basically seems to be a German version of candid camera, also with musical interludes. I wish I had something enlightened to say, but I think I just need some sleep instead. First, here are some good things that happened today:

- Got my 14g nose ring back in without having to stretch it again. Nice and pain-free!

- Saw Star Trek again! And then had lunch with Amy and her mom.

- Watched some Simpsons for the first time in weeks. Weeks.

Also:

auf Deutsch:

cockroach = Kakerlake.

It's over!

I didn't want to write about finishing up school-related things until they were all finished. And now they are all finished! These last few weeks have been insane, but I am now all graduated. My thesis and papers are all finished and my award ceremonies are all over, as is graduation. I feel like all the stuff I've had to do over the past couple of weeks has all led up to a really anticlimactic conclusion. This past weekend, however, was really terrific. My parents had a little get-together for me out at their house on Friday. Then graduation was on Saturday, followed by more time at my parents' house and then to another party. That night a few friends and I went to Trader Dick's, which is this silly sorta-tiki bar and got trashed on colorful drinks. Sunday was my bassoon teacher's going-away party, which was also fun times with lots of food.

Graduation was extremely silly because as we all marched into the Quad, I had to carry this goofy banner and that was so big I couldn't see out from behind it. At least I got to sit with Jen and Amy, and we got to sit in the stage. I was the first person from my college to walk, and I sort of led everyone in the wrong direction. It was really funny and only mildly embarrassing. All in all, graduation only lasted like 2.5 hours, which isn't too bad at all.

I leave for Germany in around... I don't know... 28 hours? I haven't even begun to pack. Oops!

It's not hopeless!

12 hours to go and...

Title page, signature page, table of contents, acknowledgments: check.

Abstract: not yet... how long can that take, though? 

Intro chapter: check, minus a concluding paragraph.

Regina chapter: check.

Eugene chapter: 1/3 check.

Formatting: check. (this was a bitch, so it gets its own heading)

Bibliography: check.

Stolen printer card so I don't have to pay to print this thing out: check.

Stolen binder clips because it'll be too thick to staple: check.

Star Trek XII: So Very Tired

I knew this would happen, and yet I did nothing to stop it. I am being forced, mostly due to a really virulent combination of procrastination and writer's block, to write the bulk of my thesis in a weekend. I'm supposed to have my "final" draft in on Monday. I had had done quite a bit of research as well as a chunk of writing previously, but today I have been locked in my room all day attempted to squeeze about 20 or 25 more pages out of my brain. I'm happy to report that I've finished one whole chapter, leaving me with about a chapter and a half to write, plus my abstract and acknowledgments. I've also done a good bit of the formatting. I don't know if I will have this done by Monday, but I'm sure going to try. Right now the writer's block is kicking back in and I have ceased to be productive. And my butt hurts from sitting all day. Owww...

...must...keep...writing...

Major life decisions made easy.

I finally heard back from Duke and I did not get in there either. That sure makes my decision easy! UT it is. Especially because they have decided to give me some money. I'm excited. I think of all the programs to which I applied, with the possible exception of UCLA, UT has the best program for what I want to do.

Here are some fun little facts about how far away from home I am going:

Distance between Austin, Texas and Reno, Nevada
2251.115 kilometers; 1398.778 miles

Distance between Austin, Texas and Havana, Cuba
1718.924 kilometers; 1068.090 miles

Distance between Austin, Texas and Tegucigalpa, Honduras
2084.967 kilometers; 1295.539 miles

I have never lived outside of the greater Reno area, with the possible exception of the study abroad trip to Ireland, but I don't think I was technically living there. This is exciting! Also, scary. Of all the states I thought I would ever move to, Texas was certainly not among them.

Also, I just found out I'm getting the Dean's Award for Outstanding Graduate for the School of the Arts. Pretty neat. All this sudden recognition is pretty cool, but it's honestly making me a little uncomfortable.

Home Means Nevada, part 3.

So, my beloved state of Nevada is experiencing a pretty intense financial crisis, like pretty much everyone these days. However, some brilliant folks are thinking up some new ways to increase revenue. I'm too lazy to summarize, so just read this. Personally, I think taxing prostitution is a pretty sweet idea. Our lipless, psychotic governor disagrees. Hell, he doesn't even think prostitution should be legal. Eh. What does he know.

On a sort of unrelated note, Vince the ShamWow/SlapChop guy, has been arrested for felony battery after an altercation with a prostitute in his ritzy hotel. The Smoking Gun is more eloquent than I am. Check out his mugshot! He looks like a white, very un-sexy Benicio del Toro.

This was almost as good as the biker brawl in the Sydney airport last week.

grumble.

More good news from UT. They're giving me in-state tuition plus $6000/year. So, that means instead of paying around $20,000/year I'll be paying $3000. Cheap!

My computer died last night, which is really devastating for me. The hard drive completely crapped out, which is unfortunate because I never backed anything up, because I'm an idiot. Mostly I'm upset about having lost around 3 years worth of pictures. Most of them I won't miss, but many I will. I called my mom as soon as I left the Apple store, and she consoled me by telling me that her uncle accidentally threw away the 17 rolls of film she took when living in Holland for a year in high school. She says she still gets upset about it, but it's not the end of the world. I figure it's just a good exercise in letting things go. People are too attached to objects, anyway.

Hopefully the hard drive will be replaced by tomorrow, but I have to pay $300 because my computer is kind of old and not even close to still being under warranty.

I just got back from a week in Olympia. I would like to show people my pictures, but oh wait I can't.

Giftschisser.

More news from the grad school front. I've been wait-listed at Duke and rejected from the University of Michigan. However, I find myself not really upset by any of this news, especially because I think UT will be a really good fit for me. Now I just need to figure out how to pay for this whole grad school thing. I must say all these rejections (and the one waiting list) have made my decision very easy. Furthermore, I'm really delighted that the one school I did get into is a really good one.

I'm very excited for graduation now, because my grandmother is buying me a ticket to Germany as a graduation present. I will probably head up to Holland as well, because my family has a lot of friends there. This also potentially frees up some cash for me to take another trip this summer before I move down to Austin. But where to?

I might also have a new tattoo in the works. I'm very excited! I have this random alto clarinet in my closet and I think I'm going to try to sell it for tattoo money, because what the heck am I even doing with an alto clarinet in the first place?

Good news, part 2.

I have more good news! In the last letter I received from UT, it said that I had been accepted to the musicology program. Today I got a letter saying that I have been accepted to the graduate school. I had already been celebrating the fact that I'd gotten it, but I was still a teeny bit concerned. Not anymore, though! Although I don't know what my other options are yet, I'm still leaning pretty strongly toward Texas right now.

I also got a letter from my university saying that I'm the top graduating senior in the College of Liberal Arts and that I get some kind of award for that. I'm so surprised! Maybe it's just a lean year for liberal arts graduates. Nevertheless, I am very surprised because I spent so much of college not really trying that hard. There is some kind of function that I must attend now. I'm supposed to invite the faculty member who has been most influential on me. I think I'll ask Louis, but I feel like I should maybe ask Christy. It's hard because I'm so close with both of them. I'm also supposed to "say a few words" upon receiving this award. What the heck am I going to say? Anyway, I'm very excited about this because the College of Liberal Arts is rather huge so I must be better than a lot of people, and not all of them can be total losers.

yesssss

Good news, everyone!

I accepted to the musicology program at the University of Texas! Although I am wary of moving to Texas, I don't think Austin actually qualifies as a part of Texas. I told my musicology professor yesterday and I think he was even more excited than I am. Though I still have yet to hear from Duke or the University of Michigan, Louis says that he would pick UT over either of them. He also said that UT is pretty good about giving TA positions, so hopefully I can snag me one o' them. They want my response by mid-March which seems ridiculous, but I have until mid-April if I take that long to decide. My concern is that doesn't really give me time to go check out the school (especially because I already have plans to go to Olympia for spring break) so I might end up going to a school I've never a seen in a town I've never been to in a state I've never been to.

I had not really expected to get into UT because not only was I not certain that they had received my reference letters and GRE scores, but I really threw my personal statement together and sent in my supplemental materials after the deadline. Nevertheless, they still accepted me, and I am quite delighted.

Baby skull update:
I talked to my sister who is in med school here and she tells me that the creepy baby skull and the collection of forceps are now in the anatomy lab. I'm glad they found a new home, even if I no longer get to see them every day when I come to work.

Missing: baby skull

I work in a medical library. There is a large display case outside out front doors which, in addition to displaying a few books from our collection, up until recently contained a large variety of forceps, some dating back some time. However, a noticed a few shifts ago that they had all disappeared! Furthermore, there was this creepy baby skull included as part of the display, and it is now gone as well. I really thought the baby skull did a lot for the display. It produced, for me anyway, mental images of having one of the large pairs of tongs from the display shoved up a woman's vag and yanking a baby out by its head. If that's not an entertaining mental image, I don't know what it. I'm sad and distraught that now when I come to work I am no longer greeted by a tiny yellowish-gray
skull and a collection of metal instruments that, while funny to picture having them shoved into someone else's body, can just stay the hell out of mine. I feel so alone.

Screwed us yet again...

As it seems relevent to the original purpose of this blog (which has been abandoned to some degree) I should probably share that I have received my first grad school rejection. UCLA informed me in the middle of Wednesday night (or, I suppose, Thursday morning) via a rather condescending and generic letter that I have not been accepted. This did not come as a surprise, but it was a bit of a disappointment. However, on Friday I spoke with my musicology professor/advisor/life coach/personal hero (who got his PhD at UCLA maybe 9 or so years ago) and he reassured me by saying that I don't want to go there right now anyway. In addition to the horrible financial situation California is in right now, evidently UCLA's musicology department is kind of a mess. So this may be a blessing. However, this also means that if I go to any of my other grad schools, I will be moving at least halfway across the country. By which I mean continent. I like the latter, it sounds scarier. Now I just have to continue to wait and hope. Hell, it's not like I would have wanted to break my streak of never having gotten into a UC school, anyway.

On a lighter note, here is an hilarious quote from DS-9, which I have been watching a lot of lately:

"We're going to have to go down there and blow it manually!"

Home Means Nevada, part 2.

My time in Reno is gradually drawing to a close. Presumably. As my departure draws nearer, I'm getting more and more anxious about leaving and noticing things that make Reno really special to me. Who knew that I could be scared of missing Reno?

Why is it that Nevada is the only place, that I'm aware of, where you can get all-you-can-eat sushi? What's more, in Reno we've got to have at least 10 or 15 places to get it. I don't even like sushi, but I like the idea of all-you-can-eat sushi. It's like taking a really classy food and making it fit into the Reno idiom of trash and vice and gluttony.

In Nevada, you can buy hard liquor at the supermarket. It never occurred to me that you couldn't do this in other places.

We have an intersection of streets called Colbert Drive and Patriot Boulevard.

Not only do we have brothels just outside of town, some of them have tours!

I don't want to move away from all this sin. What if I accidentally move to North Carolina or Texas? Shit guys, this is scary!

Hooker update:

The other night I was at the Chapel with my dear friend Frankie, and after a few pints of PBR I asked him whether or not our mutual friend whom I often see with nasty old dudes at the bar is a hooker. He says she is not, but I'm not sure I believe him. Nonetheless, I'm disappointed. I wanted to know a hooker. I live in Nevada; there are prostitutes everywhere! And yet I don't know any. Just sluts, junkies and alcoholics.

Wir fangen mit unserer Intrige an.

I had a really awkward and unpleasant experience this morning and it has been haunting me all day. I don't necessary want to go into the details, but know that it left me feeling rejected and burned. However, while doing my German homework this evening I've managed to channel some of these negative emotions into really passive-aggressive sentences about people who don't know how to behave themselves in polite society that are allegedly helping me learn to correctly use verb and prepositions in the proper combinations. By far my favorite is, "Ich glaube nicht an Karma, sondern ich glaube an Rache." That is, "I don't believe in karma, but I believe in revenge." I feel sort of clever.

Pissed Off Bastards of Bloomington

I was at the DMV the other day because I needed to get a smog waiver (long story... my car is always broken in really lame ways) and as I was leaving there was a Hells Angel pulling out of the parking lot. When did they become so law-abiding? I mean, I wasn't all that surprised to see a Hells Angel because we have this Hells Angel house where a lot of them live or hang out or something, so there's quite a few of them in Reno. But at the DMV? Really? The DMV is the ultimate manifestation of The Man. Well, maybe the IRS is. I don't know. But still, a Hells Angel has no business at the DMV. 

mystical love radiation

The Chapel is one of my favorite bars. It's a really charming combination of dive bar and hipster hangout. The last couple of times I've been there, I've run into a chick I went to high school with. And... I'm pretty sure she's a hooker now. I asked her what she's been doing the past few years and she responded, "Drinking! I hate school!" I can't think of an intelligent way to comment on this. I don't really have an issue with prostitution (as long it it's voluntary...and that's a complicated issue that I won't get into right now) but I never really expected to know an actual hooker. I sort of think it's awesome? I hope she really is a hooker and I'm not just making shit up, like I usually am.

wtf

I was listening to my Black Flag station on Pandora today and it played an Ashlee Simpson song. Perhaps Pandora thinks that I listen to Black Flag for ironic purposes and therefore could appreciate Ashlee Simpson for the same reasons. Wrong! I listen to Black Flag because of my giant boner for Henry Rollins. Duh!

thinner

Hormone imbalance my ass. Steve Jobs is obviously the victim of a Gypsy curse.

In like sin.

I suppose this is one of those obligatory 'year in review' type posts. Here goes.

My major accomplishments for the year:

- Dated one of my teachers.

- Dated/ing someone who shares part of my name.

- Slept all night in a bar. More importantly, woke up naked in a bar.

- Drank a lot, but did not puke a lot.

Yes, these all have mostly to do with booze and sex and the immoral (awesome?) life i lead and ignore accomplishments that are probably more important. Oh well, these are just the things that were sticking in my mind today. 

Also: a quote from Dinosaur Comics: "Um, I'm thinking...that a lot of my internal conflict and malaise comes from the tension between the life I ACTUALLY want to live, and the stories I'd love to be able to tell?"

I think I've done a lot to overcome this. Hence my list. Think about it.