I am genius, hear me roar

FTC Summer 07. Epic.

(ps., wondering how i did it? I BET YOU ARE. WONDER AWAY, WHILST I DO NOT TELL YOU MY SECRET! MUWAHAHHAHAH!!!)

Ciao, Blogger

Being the executive, I have made the ultimate executive decision: switching to Wordpress.

Having switched over to Blogger with Mac, which doesn't carry the formatting I'm used to :(, I think it's time for a change. Also, I'm tired of Blogger's subpar photo uploading, etc.

You can still find me, though, at tangerinesours.wordpress.com

UP AND RUNNING, DAHLINGS!

Mac Attack Commence

Up and Running.

Review: GREEK

ABC Family's new dramedy, GREEK, is thoroughly enjoyable, for those of you who were sobbing at the finale of the O.C. Coming from Patrick Sean Smith, it is somewhat reminiscent of Gilmore Girls (circa Amy Sherman-Palladino), and as I said, the O.C. Clever, witty, and heartwarming at moments, this show has all the makings of a hit.

The pilot is available on the iTunes store, and I really can't do it justice. It's free, so you know, you should go check that out.

Hace mucho frio ahora

I swear, it could very nearly be winter (despite the lack of snow on the ground... then again, we didn't get much snow during winter, did we?). Right now, I am swaddled in my sheep blanket (purchased in Quebec out of necessity)and my warmest sweater (which is also quite stylish), clutching my piping hot mug of Chai.

Granted, the sun streaming in windows kinda spoils the winter-y spirit. But in New York City, where I spent my day yesterday, I had to resort to my sweater, once again! Even then I was shivering. Mutti (whose office I was spending the day in) remarked on the unusual coldiosity with gusto, as she had not been clever and brought a sweater. Her building is normally quite chilly, and to stay warm/thwart the AC they must tape up the air vents. BUT the office felt warmer than the outside world!

How very peculiar.

Merry 4th of July

Not that I especially enjoy this holiday, mind you.

Today, lucky me, I was dragged to the exotic land that is Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to take a tour of FDR's boyhood home. I mean, FDR, he was an awesome guy, I respect him, I just don't want to see his house. Sure, it reeks of history (you can see the ACTUAL icehouse in which FDR's ACTUAL ice was stored! O-M-G!), but that is not my idea of superhappyfunafternoontimes. Especially seeing that it was drizzling madly (whwich is annoying, for those of you who have not experienced mad drizzling...), and I did not bring a comfy sweatshirt or even a blazer, which would have been preferable to the fashion-forward-but-not-terribly-practical white J. Crew t-shirt I chose to wear. 

Sculpted from the remains of the Berlin Wall, we have statues of Eleanor Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Above, the East side of the wall, and below (you may need to rotate it, it's not an especially amazing shot anyway) we have the West side.

Have YOU downloaded the new version of iTunes?

iTunes version 7.3.54 (or something similar :-/) is now up for downloading.

Not only is it verrry pretty, it fixed my little dilemma (see most recent post). 

More muted colours, better contrast (you may wonder how this is possible, but it is), highlighting of your selection in the left hand menu bar, and it offers everything iTunes always has. YAY for me no longer having to use Windows media player!

Although, I really should be grateful that Windows Media Player saved all my limewire files. This is perplexing, however, as some of my AAC converted podcasts showed up in there as well, but none of my movies/purchased music/imported CDs. So it makes sense that the LimeWire files would be unplayable, wouldn't it? But they do play! And it's really lucky for me, but really confusing at the same time. 

Tech Support

Does anyone know how to fix iTunes on a PC?

Every time I open it, I get this message:

Runtime Error!

Program: C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunes.exe

This application has requested the Runtime to terminate it in an unusual way. Please contact the application's support team for more information.

Does that make any sense? Can I find it in the Apple Support thing? Do I still hate PCs? Will I ever stop asking any of these questions?

Home... finally

It feels soooooooooo good to be back on my couch, with the glorious AC blasting onto my skin and making it impossible to sweat, and my internet connection NOT crappily slow and college internet connection-y. Even though I might miss the sound of a train coming by at 5.00 am, or the fan going constantly (but not doing anything... question mark?), or even the wailing sirens emanating from our friendly neighborhood police station, I am trés happy to be home where I won't be expected to play tennis for six+ hours/day.

Yeah, I'm gonna miss my newfound friend(s). And Amherst (Mom's Tattoo!!!!!). And all the freedom that living the college lifestyle provides, really. Freedom to order take away every night... fabulous. Freedom to bleach our hair/double pierce our ear whenever we had bleach/needles lying around... double fabulous. But at least I have IM to chat with friends, and blondER hair and a new hole in my ear. 

It is pretty chill. 

Aidez-moi, sil tu plait!

I can't take it. I have never run so much in my entire life. It's HELL. 

Maybe I'm just out of shape, or maybe I'm staying up too late or not drinking enough water or something equally horrendous, but three hours of intense drills followed by food break (not many protein-filled vegetarian selections, let me just tell you), followed by matches do not bode very well for me. 

Today, during our match, we were partnered up with someone who we may or may have not ever seen/met/heard of before. I happened to be paired with a spunky red-head, who was much more into the sport than I ever was. We played our set in the blazing sun, and by the time it was won (by the other team, 6-5), it was almost time to go. But not quite. We played two more games, won by both teams.

I don't even know how this happened, but we were at like 7-7 or something. SO, my partner decides we need a tiebreaker, even though at this point the counselors were saying to pack! it in for the day. We were out there for ages more, with no sunscreen nor water. UGHHHHHH!

Eating Domino's and drinking coke. Yay camp.

Oh Boy. Camp has never been so much fun.

Y'know, except for those nasty tennis parts. 

BUT, Amherst College has such a beautiful campus. And also it's so close to town, you can walk (albeit only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 12.30-1.00). But you can order take away whenever. Like right now, I am eating domino's pizza and drinking Coca-Cola, courtesy of the nice (albeit a bit standoffish) delivery guy.

Racing Toward Impending Doom

The time left until my departure to tennis camp draws ever closer, and I can't help wondering how much like the Ideal Lifestyle (collegiate lifestyle, that is) it will be. Sure, we'll be in our dormitories, racing down towards breakfast in our pajamas before all the hot food is taken away, doing our own laundry, heading into town for lunch. But mixed in with all these things is the tennis. Oh, the tennis.

Yes, it's true that I signed up for tennis back before the spring season. But was I accepted? Nein! I was banished to the cruel and unforgiving lacrosse team. Thus, I was obviously not good enough to participate in tennis. Should this carry over to the summer? Absolutely. 

Going over to the courts early this morning to practice my serve has only confirmed my suspicions. Serve is actually a more generous term for what it is I do. 

My serve::an actual serve :; a plastic button reading simply "Best"::an Oscar

And that's being generous. On top of all this, I am apprehensive of my upcoming Cabaret Workshop. Cabaret, it's okay. I myself enjoy musical theatre, and see nothing wrong with it until I myself am doing it. I thought I was signed up for improv, which is my passion. However, the sheet of paper I recently received proclaims clearly "CABARET WORKSHOP FOR TEENS"

*shudder* Song and dance is not my thing. I am very worried that I may be performing highlights from a range of musicals, or even worse; a medley. 

'Ello There

Back, back from GLORIOUS England!

I must say, London has become my new favourite city. If I was not convinced of my status as an anglophile before, I most certainly am now. It (London) may have been the cleanest, easiest to manoever around in, and all around best city I have ever visited. New York is great, but upon my re-entry into JFK, I was mortified at America's sheer Americanness. How rude it is to force oneself into a cab before first stating where one is destined! In New York, this is common place (getting into the back of a cab, stating your destination, and assuming the driver is lucky enough to be taking you there). However in London, the custom is to hail the taxi, ask the driver if he could take you to your destination, and get into the cab ONLY upon his consent.

I was horrified at my mother, who nearly knocked the previous passenger out of the taxi and began to load it up with our luggage. My quick thinking (going up to the window and asking if he could take us to Victoria station) prevented an international incident, and I was quick to remind my mother of the local customs.

Other than that, it was a pleasant trip. We saw the markets, the eye, but alas, no churches or palaces or parks. Thank goodness! I find palaces too touristy, and churches creep me out. Parks, I can handle, but there was so much else to do.

If you find yourself staying in London, do heed my recommendations-

-Spitalfields Market (only on Sundays)

-Covent Garden Market

-Borough Market (the organic foodies market. Amazing foodstuffs, also located near Briget Jones' flat)

-Camden Lock Market (eccentric but still awesome stuff. Like the Greenwich Village of London. Plus all the baby goths!)

-DO NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT visit the overpriced London Dungeon, unless of course scary, gruesome tourist traps are your thing. My ten year old sister had to leave early (that is, an hour into the exhibition ) in tears.

-The Courtauld Institute is a small museum, full up with Cezanne and Renoir and Monet and Manet- an impressionist's dream. Housed in what used to be someone's own home, the architecture of the place is artwork in itself.

- For transportation, take the tube. Cabs can get really expensive, and also get stuck in horrendous traffic. Also, if you do take the tube, get a travel card. Not an oyster card, unless you plan to stay for ages and ages, but a travel card which is purchased for a week and can be used without limits. Note- children under eleven travel on the tube free when travelling with an adult.

***

Today, checking out the apple page, I find out that safari is now downloadable for Windows. YAY!!!!!! As macattack looms closer and closer, it is necessary for me to get used to the Mac way of doing things. So figuring out safari can only make my transition smoother. Already I love it. It's a) more streamlined b) easier to use than internet explorer or *gasp* mozilla firefox c) simpler in all manners. All of these, for me at least, are a plus.

London Calling

Not that it's been a terribly eventful few days, but I feel the need to inform everyone of my status.

Status: Travelling
Where: London
Be Back: Six days
Last Message: Mmmmmeh

A Day Out

I forgot how much fun it was to go out with friends, without an agenda, just to go hang out, have fun, and accumulate more inside jokes (HAHAHA, P.U.O.A., HAHA). Even if you don't accomplish any of these, the joy of talking with friends makes it all worth it.
Today was my veg day. As the official first day of summer (i.e. without school), it was fitting to hang out with people I normally see everyday. By that, I mean going over to Isabelle's house with Hannah, where we pooled (and ran away from the bee that buzzed too close to the water), and of course practiced our archery. It turns out that having a target and being able to practice constantly will make someone better at archery, and not miss the target every single time without fail.
After two hours of killing time, we ventured into downtown New Canaan, one of my favourite places in Connecticut, where we saw the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be, but it was verrrrry intense. And by intense, I mean scary, enthralling, heartwarming, and funny, all at the same time. But what I don't understand is that even it being 3 o'clock in the afternoon on a Thursday, long before any other schools are let out, we still encountered the most obnoxious group of schoolchildren watching the movie behind us. I mean, anytime that anything was mentioned that wasn't strictly PG, a chorus of giggles erupted behind us. They chatted ceaselessly, and brought a new meaning to the word immature. Why do people do that? It's not like THEY get anything out of it.
Eurgh. Anyway, after that, we got dinner (a six-slice pizza, only three slices of which we could finish, due to two large popcorns, 3 waters, 1 pack junior mints, 1 pack sour patch kids, and 2 packs skittles scarfed down whilst in the theatre). Sadder still was the fact that one of those popcorns was finished before 1/4 of the movie was done. It was a long movie, but still. I'm sure that's a record or something.

Summer Albums to Live By

Now that it's finally SUMMER (!!!), I've been thinking about how I can pass the days. Lots of mixtapes and parties come to mind, although neither of these will materialize, I'm sure. But every summer needs a playlist, even if you just listen to it on repeat on the beach.
Myth Takes- !!!
The Purple Bottle- Animal Collective
Um Segundo- Bebel Gilberto
Que Onda Guero- Beck
Step Into My Office, Baby- Belle & Sebastian
P***y- Brazilian Girls
Bowl of Oranges- Bright Eyes
Windsurfing Nation- Broken Social Scene
Run to the Fun- Cajun Dance Party
Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken- Camera Obscura
Sea Lion Woman- Feist
Chealsea Dagger- Fratellis
Jarhand- Immaculate Machine
Girl They Won't Believe It- Joss Stone
Jenny Don't Be Hasty- Paolo Nutini
Before I Fall To Pieces- Razorlight
Sound & Vision- The Sea and Cake
New Slang- The Shins
Oregon Girl- Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin
Mix Tape= Love- The Tah-Dahs
Rainbows in the Dark- Tilly & The Wall
Rise Up In The Dirt- Voxtrot
The Rat- The Walkmen
Dreamin'- Wax Poetic

It may seem like a lot, but try narrowing a library of about 1400 songs down to a little over thirty. A daunting task, I mean really.
Anyway, open the iTunes store (or LimeWire, some of these songs aren't available in the U.S.), or make your own playlist, 'cause it's SUMMER!