You know the drill by now, the title is always based on a song I was listening to-- and this one is a little harder so if you guess it right I will give you 10 internets and serenade you with a uke (<---- you can call me Blue, and this a clue hahaha). It's really fitting for everything that happened today, and how I just generally feel about my future.
Today has been an all over good day, a good change of pace for a weird week. All I can say is that this week is one of the ones that makes me question my mental state, which is fancy way of saying I went bonkers a few times this week. If I've gone off on you at all this week, honestly I've just had a lot on my mind and it was a constant "straw that broke the camel's back" type scenario.
I woke up at about 10ish, the sounds of I Want It All have never been so unwelcome (and that's saying something...perverted hahaha). Got down to meet my roommate's proxy/girlfriend-ish at around 11AM, decked out in my Gryffindor shirt as we had agreed because it's hard for me to describe myself as "short, squinty, and a little confused looking". This is where I so eloquently epic failed, which is not suprising. It turns out that we were in the wrong meeting place and had to jog to a complete different location which is even closer to my dorm than this other place-- in short, FML.
We basically got everything squared away-- I'll be rooming in Quad 2-Apt 101, Room A with my roommate, Kal (his real name is actually Landon as I've learned, his nickname comes from "Kal-El", Superman for the win!). It's still just really weird to be moving out of the complexes after 2 years, and the fact that Leo has been my roommate for two years, it's a big change. However the thing that has not changed too, Leo's apartment is a few doors over, my friend Adam lives a few over from that, and Kal's girlfriend-ish Kelly lives a few other doors over-- it's going to be weird with closer co-ed living than we're used to. My new apartment is right across from the market, next to the pond (I can has swans?) and makes me yearn for having a rowboat.
But really, this is cooler than I can clearly describe because I get: to take my bike to school (hooray for not being late!) eat in a normal kitchen having coffee maker (which mum and I are looking for one shaped like a Dalek!) a toaster (I know a few people just collectively cringed)
... on top of all this, being in a Quad apartment set up means that we have a lawn basically, meaning for once I can do that normal college thing and play soccer, frisbee, and I'm going to ask Kal how he feels about getting some type of basketball hoop for the front of our apartment.
This is going to be the first time I've roomed with a geek, and I have to say I'm really frakking psyched. I can already see how cool our room is going to look what with both of us being Guildies (just he goes regularly, and I'm a bit fed up with it). I already know we're going to have a lot of late nights with Trock, video games, and other nerdy things. Apparently he wants us to get to know each other next weekend so we're going to watch Lord of the Rings and order pizza or something-- it sounds pretty normal, but at the same time I feel like a little kid.
However even through all this there's one little thing that keeps sticking in the back of my mind, it's really all changing. This is the first time that "Fourth Floor" hasn't lived together and it's just a little weird after two solid years together. Blake has decided not to even move into the apartments with us, he's staying in the dorms and part of me wants to laugh and call him a sucker-- but at the same time I have no one to play Halo with for now (see, told you, little kid). Rob is moving back home too, he can't afford school anymore, and as much as I call him a stubborn Jewface, Jewbie, or a Jewlet-- he really is one of my best friends because as much of a douche he can be, he's still been there for some of the stuff that counts. I took him to see the apartments though and he very intelligently said "yo, I'm calling couch at least once a month"-- not surprised, he would do that-- tiny Jewface hahaha.
It has me thinking a lot about being homesick now, I used to miss being home with my parents and sister, or missing my friends, or not being there for parties-- but really when it comes down to it, over the past 2 years I've gotten more attached to these people, they really became my second family-- so I guess once again I'm back to not having a real home, but this time I'm not so grudging about that fact, I'm pretty blessed to have more than one home. Still, I'm thinking now that if I had the chance, I'd so employ the TARDIS and be selfish, because I'd like "someday" to become "right now"-- I'm curious if going to medical school would move this process along...
(random unrelated edit to the above topic) So a few people had asked me recently to get something like MSN or AIM to make myself more accessible and so I've done that, so if you know me on Plurk or anything else where we talk on a regular basis (which is basically a million sites I won't talk about, but it rhymes with incest...) feel free to be like "give me yo' MSN bitch"-- but hopefully more politely than that *shifty eyes*.
I'm also on YM too, but that really wound up being more personal lately, so if I've given you my YM trust I want to talk to you, if I haven't just trust I'm a pretty private person (technically speaking, I feel like most Bloggers are exhibitions anyways...and you all knows it's true)
So fun trivia questions for the day based on the title: 1) What movie am I referencing? 2) If you can go so far as to guess, which song do you think I'm listening to?
I honestly think it's pretty obvious, but I'm also a cinema major and a nerd...soooooo...
So today wasn't a bad day, but I'm going to admit I was feeling a lot of that TGIF love from the moment I woke up. School is finishing in a few weeks though so I'm really psyched to get the summer of '09 kicked off and just relax and work on some of my to do list which is to: 1) finish my book 2) lose some weight 3) read all the books on my shelf 4) Get a job
All pretty attainable I think, but the summer has yet to start, so we'll see how my motivation turns out as soon as the humidity sets in.
I am feeling particularly motivated lately, something about all the suckness that has been occurring over the past couple weeks has really driven my contentedness back up to over 9000.
Today in fact was one of those days that I can label as "Days Pax thinks too heavily about his future"-- but for once it didn't involve me panicking and talking about how I'm going to be employed at Best Buy.
So basically what I've decided is to... drag this point on even further by doing one of those little meme type things, hey... be thankful I'm not doing this in vlog form, you can always choose to stop reading now.
Basically I'm sure a lot of people had something like this in school, but if not I'm just going to preface it a little.
Do you remember when you're a little kid and they have career day in Elementary School? You know, when you dress up as what you want to be when you grow up- -for no reason other than when you're a little kid we label career proficiency in what we can dress as. Most people wind up dressing up like doctors, or ice skaters, or football players-- let's just say I wasn't always the same.
In first grade I told my mom I wanted to be a molecular biologist/chemist (and yes, I was 6 years old at the time and wasn't even sure these careers existed *they do*). I got all dressed up in a lab coat and my mom gave me an empty salad dressing container which she drew the little atomic symbol on. My mom even gelled my hair up with her hair gel so I looked like mad scientist and they let me wear my nice shoes to school with dress pants. After a few hours at school I accidentally opened the container and found out my mom hadn't soap it well enough and it reeked of garlic. Needless to say I got glared at, but the girl who sat next to me gave me her star shaped eraser and told me that my lap coat made me look smart and cute. That girl is actually one of my best friends now still and when I tell her that she laughs and asks what happened-- science never was my thing.
In second grade I told my mom I wanted to be a veterinarian, I was 7 at the time and used to check out books from the library on pet care. I was hoping that if I showed my parents how responsible I could be, they would get me a new puppy (I already had a dog named Mack who I thought was ancient at the time, he was only 9). My mom stole one of my dad's v-neck work undershirts and made me a badge that said Dr.EJ Paxton to clip on my shirt, it was even the first time she let me take a toy to school (not really a toy per se, she let me take a stuffed dog to class, it looked like our dog, but it was more fun). When I got to school I was promptly told my Robbie Lemieux that only girls took care of animals and he called me a girl. I get sent to the office that day and had to tell the principal why I had chosen to trip a fellow classmate at recess and asked him "who's the girl now, stupid?". Taking care of animals or people was never really my thing...
In third grade I got really into art and made the decision that I was going to grow up to be a painter. My mom went out and bought me a new smock, paint brush, and even a paint pallet I use to pretend I was painting. I told my mom that I didn't look right enough and I had to be like the guy who was on a kid's show I watched on Fox Family. Apparently when I was 8 being a good painter meant looking French. My mom sewed me a black beret and painted a fake Chef Boyardee looking moustache on my face. The beret was a hit and I decided from there on out that wearing hats just made sense, however the paint gave me a rash and I decided two things: 1) I never wanted facial hair (which would become ironic 7 years later) and 2) I didn't want mummy's help with career day anymore.
In fourth grade I developed a hero worship for my dad, and I wanted to do whatever daddy did and my dad is an electrical engineer with intense backing with computers, computer programming, and circuitry (my father really is an intelligent man, which is why it's surprising to hear he still loses his sunglasses on his head). I told my dad I wanted to be a computer programmer and I think looking back now he beamed a little bit with that fatherly pride. The next day my dad woke me up early and brought me into his room, Wishbone pajamas and all. By the end of him dressing me my mom must have been appauled at her 9 year old son coming out of their bedroom in a polo shirt, suit coat, khaki pants, and sunglasses with the lenses popped out. My dad even used his office copier to make me my own work clearance ID that said "Edward J. Paxton- Programming Head". I'm not going to say this was one of the more defining moments, but it was the first time someone called me a nerd and it was the first time I realized I was pretty proud of that fact. The kid who dressed up as the football player that year showed me what he thought of nerds though-- it took them a long time to get suit arms unbuttoned.
In fifth grade, I was 10 and decided to take all my past follies which meant: nothing chemically dangerous, nothing girly, nothing harmful to my health, and nothing nerdy. Sadly this was the year we moved into the new house, so asking mum and dad for help wasn't of any good because they were too busy. I just so happened to be out of luck that career day followed the week we moved. Now you have to wonder what a 10 year old who has no adult supervision wants to be when they grow up. The next day I woke up all dressed up, and now looking back I think my mom was laughing her ass of at her 10 year old son in Hawaiian shirt, OP shorts, sandals, with sunscreen on his nose, and sunglasses that were a little too big with a cardboard cut-out of a crayon colored surf board. This is the only time I was readily accepted for my career day, and I felt pretty cool. At that age I felt like it would going to be the perfect career for me-- too bad I never did learn to surf though...
It's been about a decade now since those Elementary School career days and strangely I've come to find that my career aspirations at 9 are pretty much what they are at 19.
Which is why today I've come to the future decision that even through all my years of high school in which I wanted to be a doctor, an artist, a writer, only one of which stuck, I've realized I'm always going to be that nerd getting tied to the fire escape by his suit coat (I'm hoping figuratively, and not literally, that would suck).
So this is why today, well not today really-- but soon...
I'm adding Computer Science to my studies, probably in a minor, but still the idea is there that not only will I be that nerdy writer nerd, but I'm going to be that nerdy computer nerd... just call me freaky Computer Boy (someone just giggled =P)
But in all seriousness... if you can teach me to surf, I'll definitely reconsider
So if you're a Nerdfighter you probably know about BEDA-- and therefore you are awesome, no need for the DFT there.
If you are not a Nerdfighter and know nothing about BEDA-- well, ummmm... shaaaaaaame.
But no honestly BEDA is a concocted idea by Maureen Johnson, you can find out about the wonderful project here
Basically the premise is just simply this:
You blog, every day, in April hence B-E-D-A, which we are nerdy pronouncing as "beeda"
And now I know some of you are thinking: but Pax it is the second day in April-- don't you fail?
And my answer is simply: yes vaguely italicized internal monologue-- I do epic fail, but I counter you with my well formed rebuttal in two parts
1)I, Edward Paxton, DGAF (today is a day for acronyms) 2) Yesterday was April Fool's Day-- which means nothing but I didn't want to find out BEDA was a poorly elaborate prank in which no harm is done but wasted time (^this, like the cake, is a lie)
But really, it's a cool project and lots of people are taking part in it-- in fact if you go on YouTube and just type in BEDA, VEDA, Nerdfighter, or any of the following together you will find many people are coming forward to join the epic fun.
...Ironically while I was writing this the song I'm using to start my screen play came on-- so not only will I share that but some updated news about iLife... segues FTW!
^This is the opening theme to both the main action of the screenplay, and is also the subset text of the novel that starts off the chapter-- proof that the oldies are still awesome even 25 years later.
I know a lot of my friends are aware of iLife, which is a bit of a lie-- a lot of my friends haven't listened long enough to care what I'm writing so here's just my basic summary of iLife.
It's a boy meets girls...meets iPod story-- I'm afraid I'm not allowed to say much more than that while I'm writing, but it's basically your average teen movie meets Stranger Than Fiction, with a hint of autobiography.
Also some extra fun nerdy news which a lot of people probably won't care about... so I'm still moving on.
I'm working on the iLife book at the moment (which is not a direct adaptation, but rather there are direct similarities between the screenplay version and the movie version-- but they are very different in layout and some timeline aspects), which is no surprise I've been working, re-editing, re-drafting, all the fun stuff since sometime early last year. Hopefully I'll be finished by the end of this summer and have a finished "iLife of Emerson Gray" product.
Which is where some of my fun comes in:
I've been looking at some independent publishing firms that will just do one-off copies of books without mass distribution, and basically if I can find where it is feasibly possible I will in fact be printing off a few copies of iLife and distributing them to people who want them.
However because I have no legal representation and no means of this being funded, a lot of this will be out of pocket, so I believe at the most I'm only going to have 5-10 copies printed off.
Whether this is truly possible or not, I'm not sure, but for anyone who's been following the progress of my stuff, if you want a copy this is your chance to be like "I can has book?"
...Keep in mind still that just because you want on doesn't mean you can have one, but I'm just curious about the people who are seriously interested in this and have been following it since the beginning.
So now that I've gotten this pretty boring and pointless update out of the way, I'm probably going to go do work, or other random pointless things with my time rather than blog about my day anymore right now, but just know this was my unlucky day-- I got April Fooled by April 1st thinking that the bad luck would end then... it didn't...
