things i have done instead of doing my homework

1. Grocery shopping (Woodman's!!!)

2. Dishes (most but not all)

3. Cleaned my bedroom (moved some furniture around, rearranged + refolded all my clothes)

4. Found a Pad Thai recipe for dinner tonight (at this blog, Chez Pim, which looks pretty great)

5. Watched a lot of episodes of Real Housewives of Various Locales (well, NY + NJ) and also Law and Order: Criminal Intent

And the homework I'm avoiding? Reading 2 more articles and then writing a 250 word response to those and a few other articles + chapters. Ugh.

btw

1. I have not had a cigarette since last Tuesday.

2. I meant to do some sewing today.

3. I'm feeling a bit sleepy, but I'm still going to Nathan's show. Busybodies is playing a basement show. I've somehow not seen this band yet, so it should be fun!

4. What is it with me and lists?

non-smoker

1. Six full days without a cigarette. Yes.

2. I had to pay my library fines today, or at least get my balance under $10, to check out books related to my new thesis topic.

3. What kind of respectable university doesn't let students (grad students, even) check out books because of fines? Okay, yes, put a hold on my account so I can't graduate or whatever, but I need to check out books to be in school, and I am too poor to afford library fines BECAUSE I'M IN SCHOOL.

4. UGH.

5. The amount that I paid is actually just about what I'll save once I've gone a month without smoking. So much for buying myself something nice to celebrate.

october?

1. Time is flying, yet I am not having that much fun.

2. But this weekend I'm going to New York for Kira's birthday.

3. I have a short paper due in... two and a half hours.

4. I have already cut down considerably on cigarettes with the [barely] chilly weather. I don't know why I thought summer [i.e. the season that I spend outside, where I can smoke as much as I want to] would be a good time to quit, when it's barely fall and yet I have no desire to go outside and smoke in the windy cold weather. Nathan and I are both going to quit this winter. I'm thinking we'll set a quit date once it's really, really cold. So, two or three weeks, probably?

5. Should really write that paper now.

6. How are you?

1. I couldn't get to sleep last night, and I couldn't sleep past 8 this morning. Curious. Wait, no, I meant to type So Very Annoying.

2. Did you hear there was a tornado yesterday in downtown Minneapolis? Well, near--it touched down south of downtown, skipped downtown directly [though a few buildings lost windows due to wind], and then touched down again to the... north or something. Scary stuff!

3. I'm probably going to canvass on Saturday. I'm really not a fan of canvassing at all, but Senator Feingold wants his campaign to run canvasses throughout the state on Saturday, and I just finished his biography [Feingold: A New Democratic Party, so so amazing], and I'm kind of convinced that he is the best hope for the Democratic Party to stop sucking so much.

4. Though really, after Barney Frank's performance at his last town hall, I realized I may have underestimated him. Some crazy protester lady asked why he was supporting Obama's "Nazi policies" and Senator Frank responded by pointing out that he is Jewish and then asking what planet the woman is living on. Amazing! Oh, why am I trying to describe it, you should just watch the segment from The Daily Show, though if you can find a full version online, it is worth the effort. It's so nice to see a Senator not pander to ridiculous people who believe ridiculous things.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Barney Frank's Town Hall Snaps
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Healthcare Protests

5. Alright, that is enough for now! More later, probably!

practice makes perfect

1. I really want to make this dress.

2. Why am I up so late? Damn.

3. I am determined to get back into the habit of writing here. So much to catch up on!

4. While cleaning my sewing room, I found two different quilt battings, which means I can now finish the quilt I made for my new nephew and the yellow and grey quilt.

5. Speaking of which, this is what it looks like, basically:



That is obviously a terrible photo, and it was taken when I was trying to decide on the final placement of things, but that is pretty much it. I finished it in one [long] day. Obviously a very simple patchwork pattern, but I was more interested in experimenting with colors/patterns/placement/etc. Because I am a fancy pants artist lady!

Okay. Time to sleep!

the time for independence is now

1. I bought a bike!

2. And I rode it to work yesterday! Amazing!

3. I am, coincidentally, broke!

4. I'm going to make four (4) quilt tops this week. I wrote it; now I have to do it!

HELLO

1. I am not great at focusing.

2. Where did the day go?

3. Partisan is so, so good. I made it to one of their shows for the first time in months, probably, and man, I have talented friends. Unfortunately, last night was their second-to-last-show, so, you know, great.

4. I started working on this thing today, this craft thing, and it is probably the most creatively ambitious thing that I've done, and so far I'm not really into it. I will probably persevere though. It definitely can't get any worse.

5. Fischberger's Variety is definitely my favorite store in Milwaukee. Apparently they're expanding their sewing notions section!

6. I finally got my Wisconsin tax refund today, and it was considerably less than I expected. Like, hundreds of dollars less. So, yeah. There's that.

7. I am going to go work on a quilt. Or waste more time. Definitely I will do one of those two things.

sunny with a chance of awesome

1. I updated my Etsy shop! First time in at least a month, so I am quite excited.

2. I overslept and am going to be quite late for my internship. That is not as exciting.

3. If I'm running late, why am I updating my blog?

ginger

1. I've been trying to get a handle on my Flickr account (I have over 12,000 images, and I had forgotten that at least 11,000 of them exist.), and I found this photo, taken on a walk around my old neighborhood in Harlem. I think Kira & I were walking to this cafe across from the top of Central Park, if I'm not mistaken. It reminds me very much of what it looks like outside right now.
   
2. Remember when I made beans? It turns out that I most definitely did not cook them long enough, either in the slow cooker or in the pan when I made the first batch. But! I made the rest of the beans yesterday, and I cooked them in what seemed like way too much water (because the first batch was so dry, you see), and I added all of these spices and also salt (here is something I learned--if you use dried beans instead of canned beans, you're probably going to want to add a bit of salt, because you know that liquid that canned beans are in? that's basically salty brine.), and I cooked them forever, and they turned out totally fucking delicious. So, you know, victory for Marina! Finally; I was starting to forget that I am actually kind of good at cooking.
3. I am actually going to be able to update my Etsy shop on Monday. I have things to list and photos of said things and I have even started writing up little blurbs about what said things are. That is probably my least favorite part; I keep wanting to write "It's a purse! It's awesome! Buy it! Give me money now!" but that would probably not be a very effective selling technique.
4. It seems that it is going to be another gray rainy day, which is really fucking annoying, as I need to get some work done today. I think I might actually go to a coffee shop to do work, depending on how much it's raining, I guess. I haven't done that in forever, and I just remembered yesterday that sometimes getting out of the house can lead to me being a much more focused, efficient person. Surprising that I would be more focused when I'm away from all of the things that distract me.
5. Wow, I am blogging a lot lately. I go through phases, I guess. Sometimes I forget that I've been doing this off and on since 2002. Holy shit, that's seven years. I'm not sure how I feel about that...

cake in a jar

Holy crap, last post was stupid long. Three (short) things--

1. I have been using my zipper foot wrong for the past six months or so (i.e. however long I have been using it). Woops!

2. I'm totally going to make cake in a jar soon! Probably not until after Friday when my grades are submitted, but hey, Friday night baking party! Woo!

3. My semester is over, and my students' semester is nearly over. As of Friday at 5, I will be done, if all goes very well.

pretty

1. I have been walking around squinting all day, or at least all of the day that I spent outside, and now the sun is starting to set, and I just found my sunglasses at the bottom of my backpack.

2. It is embarrassingly difficult for me to make the connection between thinking and talking about all the awesome things that I am so excited to do, and actually doing them. Case in point: I have been sitting at Alterra for at least an hour, wasting time on the Internet, not working on my paper on the Section 108 Study Group Report. I am ridiculous!

3. Check this shit out:

orientalism

1. So I'm writing this paper for my Colonialism seminar. I have to talk about a bunch of different readings, mostly related to education and architecture and display in the later imperial period. That part isn't necessarily difficult--I did all the reading and I basically understand what all the authors are trying to say--but we also have to make a larger argument, and I just have nothing interesting to say. I don't know, I may have figured out an approach, but it's so difficult to write this paper because I just do not have anything interesting to add.

2. I'm going to New York in May. I think I may have already mentioned that, but I bought my ticket today. I'm leaving the week after finals, and I'm staying for eight days. It will be awesome.

3. I'm going to Kentucky on Thursday, for the Midwest Archives Conference Annual Meeting. I'm sort of not sure why I'm going, as it will cost money and I have not even taken any archives classes, and I'm seriously not going to have any background knowledge when I get there. But on the other hand, I'll get to go to Kentucky (which I probably would not ever have done otherwise), and it's not actually that expensive, and I'll probably learn something, and it's always good to make contacts or whatever. Right? I don't know, I'm just hoping I'll be able to buy some quality bourbon while I'm there.

4. I made a really awesome bag this weekend. After much consideration, I've decided to list it on Etsy, because much as I want to keep it for myself, I also want to keep having money to buy food, and that's going to be difficult since I keep going on trips I can't afford. I'll post a photo of the bag tonight or probably tomorrow, after I list it on Etsy.

5. I can barely write a coherent sentence. That does not bode well for the paper I've been working on for the past three hours!

half awake

1. I have class on Thursdays at 9:30. Our professor is out of town this week, so we had to take the quiz online, so I woke up at 8, made coffee, drank coffee, studied, downloaded the quiz at 9:30, uploaded the answers at 9:50 or so, and now... I am awake. And I don't have to do anything all day, or at least until this afternoon. Lame.

2. Ugh, that story was not as interesting as I thought it would be.

3. My room is so messy! I'm not even going to upload a picture, it would be too shocking. Unless you know me; then it would be too expected, and you'd be all "oh, Marina, your room is messy again, HAHAHA LIKE ALWAYS." Which is true, but still, I am sick of people making fun of me for my mess. I have made my bed every day this year, thank you very much.

4. Oh, I am cranky!

5. I finished an awesome bag last night. It is adorable, and I'm going to list it on Etsy even though the seams are not very straight because it is awesome and lined with a multi-colored polka dot fabric. Adorable! Pictures later, I should do the listing today.

6. I sold more of the strange little face beads on Etsy, to someone in the Netherlands, which is pretty cool. I still have some left, so check out my etsy shop if you're into buying things that are really awesome.

golda meir mondays?

As school has suddenly gotten challenging, I've decided that Monday is going to be library day. By which I mean homework day. By which I mean, you guys, I have a lot to do for the next however many weeks there are until finals. By which I mean, you guys, get ready to hear way more than you ever wanted to know about the UWM library.

(+) Named after Golda Meir. Way more interesting than Elmer Holmes Bobst [Don't know who that is? Don't worry! I spent 5 years at NYU, and I'm still not really sure.]
(+) Maze-like in a very satisfying way. Is maze-like a word? Labyrinthine, that sounds much better [by which I mean "more pretentious"].

(-) Bathrooms in short supply, possibly non-existent on fourth floor except for strange unisex bathroom by stairs.
(-) Only open until 8pm on Saturdays. What the hell?

More to come! Maybe!

ouch

1. My knee is killing me. In high school, I had knee problems because after spending seven years doing gymnastics three to six days a week, I switched to hockey and spent three to six days a week playing goalie. Now, I'm pretty sure my knee hurts because I spent half of yesterday walking around with a thirty pound sewing machine.

2. You know, considering that I spent seven years doing gymnastics for 3-6 days a week, I was really spectacularly bad.

3. I am having a sale in my Etsy shop. Go look at things. And buy them if you want. I guess? Marketing is weird.

4. And just to make up for that last bit, telling you to buy things, click on this and be happy. And then hit refresh and be happy again.

love

1. I know Valentine's Day is a stupid corporate holiday, but I don't care, because I had a date. We had dinner at Jalisco and then we came home and watched Futurama and drank Lakefront beer, and it was awesome.

2. I went to a sewing class at Fasten today, and it was also awesome. I made a skirt, and I learned more about sewing, and I had so much fun.

3. Um, I don't actually have anything else.

Things I Have Learned Recently

1. I have too much stuff. Way, way too much stuff.

2. You can ship things with Amtrak. It's actually far cheaper than shipping through USPS, if you have more than 100 pounds of stuff.

3. Which I do. Times four or five, probably.

4. Seriously, I have too much crap. I threw so much away, and there's still so much more to pack.

5. It's so much easier to get things done when you're unemployed.

Things That I am Going to Make With My Food Processor

[edit: even more words about food processors here]

Natural Peanut Butter. You know how you make peanut butter? You grind up peanuts. That's it! Apparently, it takes 1-3 minutes with a food processor. And I can add honey! And make it exactly as chunky as I want!

Salsa. Oh man, so many different kinds of salsa. I made salsa two nights ago, with roasted tomatoes and onions and red pepper, and I bought more tomatoes and peppers today at Fairway, and it will be even easier to make my own salsa when I have my own food processor. I'm still working on perfecting basic salsa, but I really want to try tomatillo salsa. Also, mango and pear and possibly apple. You can add so many things to salsa!

Pasta sauce! I can make it in bulk and add garlic and basil and whatever else I want! And then I can put it in jars and save it and I'll never have to buy pre-made pasta sauce!

Chutney! Why the fuck not?!

Cream Cheese [or more likely Neufchatel cheese] Mixes - green onions, jalapeño peppers, garlic, who knows!


I am so very excited about my soon-to-be-purchased food processor. I have a Target gift card that I saved from Christmas, so I'll actually be able to buy a pretty decent one. I haven't made a final decision yet, but I might buy it online now and have it sent to my new apartment so it'll be waiting for me when I arrive. They probably have free shipping on Target.com, right? I'm also going to buy a new rice cooker; my current one isn't nice enough to warrant packing and shipping it to Milwaukee, and Kira will be able to use it.

If anyone has product recommendations for food processors or rice cookers, please please please leave a comment. They will have to stand up to heavy use, as I am going to cook all the time in an effort to save money.

Cooking everything yourself instead of buying premade things is cheaper, right? Because I'm pretty sure it will be healthier, especially for me and my weird digestive system, but I'm sort of counting on it being cheaper as well. Kira and I have been talking about this a lot, and I think if I buy produce on sale and in season, and buy everything else on sale as well, I should be okay. Also, apparently a Costco is being built near Milwaukee, so I can take advantage of my parents' membership when they visit me.

Uhh sorry, this has veered into me worrying about money and moving. I'm not that surprised, since "holy shit, I can't afford to move, what if I don't find a job right away" is one of only three or four things that I think about anymore. [Others--"I'm moving from New York City to Milwaukee? What?!" and "Maybe I should just throw away everything I own and start fresh in Milwaukee because packing sucks ass."] Still, that doesn't mean it's interesting.

Books That I Bought In Buenos Aires

Inspired by Jeb

Fiction
Rayuela Julio Cortázar

Non-Fiction
El Socialismo Latinoamericano: Un Recorrido Hasta Nuestros Tiempos, ed. Claudia Korol
Nación y nacionalismo en Latinoamérica, ed. Jorge Enrique González
Neoliberalismo y sectores dominantes, eds. Eduardo M. Basualdo & Enrique Arceo
Reforma Financiera en América Latina, eds. Eugenia Correa & Alicia Girón

Pamphlets
la américa latina y los congresos del partido comunista ruso, Víctor Alba [1960s?]
los EE.UU. y América Latina, H.L. Matthews and K.H. Silvert [1963]


In case you were wondering, my Spanish skills are not nearly up to the task of reading all of these books (case in point: I'm not entirely sure of what "sectores dominantes" means--the literal translation is dominant sectors, but I think it might be more 'domestic sectors'), but hey, that'll just make things more interesting, right?