Friday, April 30, 2010

I've Been Riding Out the Storm...

...And I think I can see a light in the clouds. Finally.

So I got the 95 on my paper and brought up my grade to an 80. That's a good start. The math final doesn't seem like it's going to be too horrible, but I'm still going to study like there is no tommorrow. The bio final is daunting, but I'll survive.

My last day of work at my current job is May 8th, which is next Saturday. I feel like I am on the right track. Today, I got the rest of my paperwork filled out at my new place and the rest of my uniform. The employees there are all really excited to have me, and were already starting to include me in their joking, even as I was filling out my paperwork.

And I officially have the title of "Junior Bacon Rodeo" on my MST3K forum that I'm on. I found out that titles like that are only given by moderators when they feel you have earned one. I think I know which administrator gave me mine, as his title says "Bacon is My Copilot" and he asked me to be his bacon disciple.

Things are finally working out. I know the next week or so is going to be rough, just because of the finals and leaving Sylvan and starting my new job, but I feel confident that I am on the right track.

The sun shining through the clouds really is nice. And hey, even though it's still drizzling, I think I can see a rainbow.

How's that for cheesey?

~Meaghan

P.S. - When I finish this semester, I'm having a MST3K marathon. I may even throw in my CT DVD to shake it up. Nevertheless, it's going to be awesome. And I'll have survived one whole year at college, which is pretty incredible too.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

FINALLY!!!

Staying up until midnight to do a paper pays off - granted, I should have had it done well before then, but still. I got it done.

It's graded now. Wanna know what I got? You know you do. I got 47.5 out of 50 on it. That's right. A 95%.

My bio grade is now at an 80%.

That is all.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Hi again.

So you know that test I took last week that I was pretty sure I failed? Yeah, I was right - I got a 58 on it. Go me. And that was the lowest grade I hae ever made since starting college.

Until today, when I got my math test back. Yep, I made a 42 on it. I rock, can you tell?

But -

There is hope. I stayed up until midnight last night writing and perfecting a bio paper on transgenic crops for today. It's 11 pages long and chock full of stuff, so hopefully I'll at least get a C on it. And the math final? We reviewed for it today in class and I know almost everything that is going to be covered on it. I just need to brush up on a couple of forumlas and practice using them a bit, and I should be able to rock that test so hard that I get an A on. There's no guarentee that I'll be able to do that with my bio test - I'm not entirely convinced I understand everything in class - but I'm going to study hard for it and see if I can pull it out. I only have another week of school after this.

I put in my notice at Sylvan. I was offered a position at Einstein's Bagels and was told they are going to work with me so I can become a shift supervisor by the time I graduate school. They are starting me at what I'm making now, and I'm starting at the bottom, working my way up. I know I have ranted about Sylvan a number of times here, but I really do have mixed feelings about leaving. I think Einstein's is where I'm supposed to be, just based on how quickly everything worked out (I start on the 11th), but I'm still pretty attached to the people I work with at Sylvan. They kind of became like a second family to me, and I feel like leaving is slightly bittersweet.

What else? Oh, I had the biggest meltdown I have had since high school this weekend. My mom was really worried about me. It ended with her having to help me schedule out my time so that I can actually get everything done. Cause otherwise, I won't and it will be bad. I have to say, though, that I am still feeling the effects of the meltdown. Even as I type this, I feel slight hysteria building. As long as I can keep it together and not cry while I'm here, at school, then I will be okay. Things are looking better - I still can't look past today, though. It's too overwhelming.

My friend ditched me today. Which is fine, cause I actually think I payed more attention in class without her trying to talk to me during lecture. I know that sounds bad, but still. I think I'm going to eat lunch alone - she's really social and I don't have the energy to be a social butterfly with her and her friends.

Ok, I think that about sums up everything. I made a new friend on this MST3K forum I'm on - she's close to my age and it's kinda fun to have someone to talk with about MST3K and other things my friends and family think I'm nuts for.

I gotta go - I need to do math homework and get some bio reading done before lecture.

Until next time, Cyberland,

~Meaghan

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Failure to Launch

That's how my brain feels. I just spent an hour on a math test where I couldn't remember anything except to put my name at the top of the paper. I seriously almost started crying in class cause my grade is at the lowest it's ever been and it's so unlike me to let it get like that.

Yeah, it adds to my week of awesomeness. Let me give you the run down:

So, on Tuesday, I had a bio test, which was brutal. My mom got onto me about my grades a little, and I was reminded that I had to get my meningitis vaccine on Wed. morning. Which I had completely forgotten about even though I was the one who made the appointment.

So Wed. I got a shot and my arm still hurts. Today, I bombed this stupid ass math test.

But-

I changed my major so now I can relax a little. I got signed up for fall classes, and they are all classes that I want to take (Music Appreciation, History 122, and Creative Writing), and I got my financial aid paperwork done, so I don't have to stress myself out because I don't have enough money to cover semester.

And I am healthy, my family is healthy, my sister and I are back to being on pretty good terms, I get to babysit tonight which translates into watching Jurassic Park II with a five year old for the millionth time (maybe I'll actually get to see the end this time...), and it's raining. I love the rain.

So I really have no right to complain at the moment. They are just grades. They do not define me. As much as I know this, I still freak out about them. I'll get over it. Eventually.

Completely random tangent, I just realized today that I have like five different passwords for things. How do I keep them straight? I don't know, I just do.

Ok, that's all for today.
Until the next whiny blog,

~Meaghan

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

I Have One!

Ask me anything here: http://formspring.me/birdgirl90

It is a lot of fun. That is all.

Oh, and I'm getting a vaccine this morning, so if I'm crying in pain later and blogging about it, that's why.

~Meaghan

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

...Hit by a Flippin Mac Truck....

Hi everyone. This blog was going to come earlier (no, seriously, it was...stop looking at me like that...ok, fine, look at me like that, see what I care....Gah.) but um, I got distracted.

Anyway, here it is now, all fresh and ready for reading consumption.

So, I had a biology test today and I am 99.98% sure I did not do well on it. That's how I normally feel about them, though, so I'm not overly worried. Or maybe I should be. I don't know, semester's almost over, I could care less at this point.

My point is that I am completely brain dead as of now. All I want to do is watch movies or color and then go to improv tonight. And maybe eat pizza, cause I have a pizza craving, cause you know, I'm a carbaholic. I mean it's to be expected, as I am part Irish/Italian, but I can't say that's the whol-

Wow, that was a tangent. *slaps self time or two* Okay, back to the topic.

Being brain dead is okay, except for if you are in college and have tons of homework due online before midnight of the day you are brain dead on. (Does that make sense??) I can almost guarentee that the math is not going to get finished. Which brings another important announcement:

TWO AND A HALF WEEKS OF SCHOOL LEFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm a little excited, can you tell?

I have to say, this semester was (and is) brutal. I realized I don't want to do biology every day for the rest of my existance. So today I changed my major.

I am officially an Associates of Art major, with plans to get a primary education degree after I graduate. So, I get to goof off a little now - my math classes will be done after this one, I can load up on music, drama, and literature, and I can still take a few science classes should I choose to. I'm pretty happy about it.

I still have a double math final, a math test on Thursday, a paper due in bio on Tuesday, another bio test, and three more labs, one of which is my last lab practical, before I'm done for the semester. I think I can make it. I mean, it's not going to stop for me anyway, so I might as well try.

Ok, I think my brain just gave out. I'm going to refuel it with chocolate and watch some MST3K, and try to unwind a tiny bit before going to improv. Later, cyberland readers.

~Meaghan, aka Birdgirl90

BTW, Twitter has made me realize that I have a very mundane life. I still don't really have an opinion on it....

Monday, April 19, 2010

It's Been a While, Hasn't It?

And even though it has been what feels like forever since I had anything of interest to blog about, this is going to be short cause it's after 10 and I have a bio test tomorrow... (I know, whoever heard of a teenager who goes to bed before midnight? Crazy!)

My absence from blogging can be directly related to the fact that I have had an increase of stress the past week or two. Mainly, this evil thing called "Finals". I really want to find the person who created that word and punch them in the flippin nose. I am not kidding. I am generally a non-violent individual, but finals drive me to the point of crazed frenzies not unlike that of a group of sharks smelling blood in their general vacinity. Yeah, it's that bad.

That being said, you would think I would actually study. But, uh, no. Apparently I do fit the sterotype of college kids not studying for tests. Because I'd rather be doing other things, like watching "Star Trek" and planning to take over the world. (You thought only crazy people did that? Ha. When I take over the world, it will prove that the nerds truly trump everyone. I don't know what I'm going to do when I take over the world, though - I haven't gotten that far yet...)

Um, so yeah. I have a major paper due next Tuesday that is still in the note taking stage, math homework in various stages of done-ness, and a bio test tomorrow that I'm pretty sure I'm going to do well on, but I can't think like that cause whenever I think I do well on something, I bomb it. (Murphy's law? Maybe...)

I think I'm going to change my major. No more Biology teaching. I'm looking more to primary education instead. Bring on the elementary kiddies.

Ok, that's all. I'm tired and want to go to bed. And I want to get everything done tomorrow so I can go to improv without feeling overwhelmed. Cause I feel so overwhelmed that I might just cry.

Thank goodness I have outlets. Sites I go to when I'm bored or stressed that I recommend? http://forestcrow.proboards.com/ (MST3K related community, very very nice people), http://community.livejournal.com/ontd_startrek (Star Trek related community, nice people), http://www.cinematictitanic.com/, and http://theoatmeal.com/ to name a few. If you go to any like that and there's a birdgirl90, chances are that's me. I tend to be shy posting, but I love seeing what other people post....

Okay, I'll try to blog later, I really need to go to bed now. I seriously doubt any of this made sense anyway, so if you made it this far, I apologize for rambling and stuff.

Later.

~Meaghan

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Crow Should Have a Separate Keypad, or the Why I Hate Making Spread Sheets blog

Before anyone gets confused, remember from an earlier blog: I had to name my new computer when I got it up and running. I named it Crow. I am not talking about a black bird that eats random shit off the side of the road or about the fun little bot from MST3K. I am talking about my laptop.

So anyway, today I had to make these spread sheets and graphs for biology. I literally spent almost three hours working on it and it is still not done. What really made it painful was that I had over 60 data points for each experiment (six experiments all together) and each one had to be typed in by hand.

Do you know how friggin hard that is without a separate number pad?? It was the most tedious and painful thing I have done this week.

At least I burned off the calories from the cherry poptart I consumed while doing it, right?

Here's my proposition: all laptops should come with a separate number pad like a regular computer keyboard has. It wouldn't kill the companies to do that, would it? No, it wouldn't. That's my complaint for the day.

I have to go to work in like five minutes, so here's a brief overview of the rest of my Wed.

I have a mountain of homework to do still, so I'm going to be up doing that tonight when I get home. I also will be doing part of it at work. We'll see how much I get done.

I have been hitting this group called Warp 11 pretty hard. Anyone heard of them? They're a Star Trek tribute band, and I for some reason love them. My favorite songs by them are "Songs for People Who Never Watch Star Trek" and "Old Country Doctor (the Ballad of Bones)". You should look them up if you haven't heard of them.

Okay, I gotta run. I'll blog tomorrow if I get the chance.

~Meaghan

P.S. - I won a contest at the MST3K board I'm on and my DVDs are going to get here today. I am so excited; it's like extra motivation to get stuff done so I can goof!

Monday, April 12, 2010

I Think Tomorrow Might Not Suck

At least, I hope it doesn't.

See, most of this semester, I have had this real dread of going to class. Yeah, it's college and it's great and builds character and whatever, but some days it's really hard to convince myself that I am doing something worthwhile.

I pay for my own education, so I suppose you could say that I have a personal investment in my endeavor to do better. At the same time, though, I really just feel like not going. But every time I skip class, I feel guilty about it. It's kind of a weird thing, cause no one else I know feels guilty about skipping class.

But I feel like tomorrow may not entirely suck. I feel optimistic about it, which both frightens and elates me. I still have to endure two hours of Seletsky lecturing about math. I still have to try to figure out what is going on in biology. I still have uncompleted homework.

But I think it's going to be okay. For once this semester, I feel like this is not the worst thing I have ever had to do in my life. I am going to go in, head held high, and make it through.

And my friend Jen and I are going to Dairy Queen for lunch, so I have that to look forward to.

Thank goodness the semester is almost over. Just a few more weeks. And I will never take summer classes again.

Until the morrow,

Meaghan

Sunday, April 11, 2010

I Like Poptarts

I am trying to think about what I should write about and I'm drawing a blank. Is it that my life is just that ordinary, or that I have hit that point where I have blogged myself out?

Whatever the case, I have to keep trying to write, even if it's something as mundane as telling you that I like poptarts.

I like poptarts.

I especially like the frosted cherry ones. Those have always been my favorite. I have been told that as a college student living at home, I have been spared having to live off of ramen and poptarts. This is true to a T. Because I am not forced to live off of the poptarts, I still enjoy them.

Ramen, on the other hand, is a totally different story. Everytime I go to eat ramen, no matter what the flavor, I feel as though my guts are going to rush out of me like a space shuttle leaving the atmosphere.

Okay, that was probably too much information. Let's move back to poptarts.

I love it when you toast poptarts and the filling gets all warm and gooey. That is the best. Granted, they are good plain and they are good cold, but warm and toasty is the best.

I have officially made myself hungry. I'm going to remedy that.

Have a good night, Cyberland.

~Birdgirl90

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Yep, I Should Most Definitely Be In Bed Now...

...why on earth do you ask?

Is it because you know I am about to fill this blog with more useless information than the back of a cereal box or because you can sense through the screens separating us that I am fully exhausted to the point of hyperness?

Whatever your reason, here is my blog post for the day.

I have calculated that in order for me to make paying $63 for a pair of roller skates count for anything, I have to use them at least 10 more times. 10, I tell you! I can almost guarentee that my derby dreams are dashed, but for the love of all that is holy, I had better know how to skate by the end of the 10 + times. Seriously. Or else I am not going to be a happy camper, so to speak.

On a completely other tangent, I am debating about trying RiffTrax. For those who do not know what RiffTrax is, I'll give you a brief synopsis.

Basically, while Joel Hodgson and his gang has their project of Cinematic Titanic, Mike Nelson got together with Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett(e) (I said I was tired, that means spelling and grammer have gone to hell for the night. Humor me...) and formed RiffTrax, which is a thing where you can buy an audio commentary full of riffing for a ton of modern movies.

Here's the thing:

I like my stuff to all come together. If I'm going to pay money for someone riffing my movie for me, I don't mind paying the extra to have the movie come with it. I just feel like it's an incomplete product.

But I'm still debating about trying it. Why? Because the little 10 minute blurb on youtube of the three of them riffing Twilight was freaking fantastic. (I love those books, but that movie was just asking to be riffed...) And because they're funny, and because I missed the Mike/Joel debates so I can like them both. And because I love Brain Guy. That's why.

Still, it's all just a passing thought. It takes me forever to agonize over ordering things online and stuff, so we shall see if I actually go anywhere with it.

Okay, now the hyperness is gone. I am going to bed. Good luck trying to make sense of this post, cyberland, good luck.

~Meaghan

Friday, April 9, 2010

Random Blog: "The Alien Factor" Review, Roller Skating Drama, and More Inside!

Hey Cyberland readers.

This blog is kind of a jumble of things, mainly cause I feel too tired to write multiple blogs today and lable them correctly.

First off, my review of Cinematic Titanic's "The Alien Factor".

I thought it was hilarious. The movie itself cracked me up just because it seemed like the directors were just putting things together to fill the film. I haven't seen such padding outside of "Sidehackers". And the ending - WTF? I laughed at how random it ended.

And then you factor in the riffing. It's a live DVD, so we can actually see the faces of the riffers. I have to be honest: it was a lot of fun being able to see everyone crack up at each others jokes. The audience was fun too; it's always a lot more fun to share laughs with others than just by yourself. The riffs were spot on and all the ones I understood were hilarious. I can't compare it to MST3K cause they are different things, but I thought this may have been almost funnier.

The language and joke lines, too, were a little more mature. Maybe it's cause I live in the gutter anyway, but I liked that to an extent. It never got to the point of being tasteless (such as in an R movie were everyone drops the F-bomb every five minutes); they basically were echoing sentiments I had about the movie, and it was great. I highly recommend it.

Second order of business: I suck at roller skating.

Roller skating looks so easy on TV and in the movies (like "Whip It") and when everyone else is doing it. I, however, can't do it to save my life. Last weekend my mom held me for ten minutes in a parking lot while I tried to get the guts up do it myself. Tonight, my dad walked me around the apartments and tried to get me to do it on my own. (Yes, both of my parents are awesome, thanks for asking.)

I don't get why I'm having such trouble with it. I can't tell if it's because I've been on rocky surfaces, have a terrible fear of falling, can't find my center of balance, or what. It's a little frusterating. I really want to get good (hence why I keep trying) so I can do roller derby, but I think those dreams are going to be on pause for a while.

Finally, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science is amazing. My mom, sister, and I spent 6 hours there today. That has to be like a record or something. And we still didn't see everything! If you get a chance to go, I highly recommend it. It's great.

Okay, that's it. I am wiped out.

Until next time,

~Meaghan
Birdgirl90

Thursday, April 8, 2010

The Best Weekend Just Started.

I got out of lab early, I got my CT DVD in the mail, I'm going to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science tomorrow, I don't have to work Saturday, and I get to try my hand at roller skating yet again (don't ask about last time, just don't...).

The down side? I have a mountain of homework to do. But even that seems within my grasp. Yes, it's going to be a grand weekend.

And with that, I'm going to leave you hanging cause I want to see my new DVD.

~Meaghan

Just Sayin Hi...

And that is it. I have to go to class, but I'll put a meaningful blog up here later.

Adios, amigos,

~Meaghan

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Previously on "All the Stars and Boulevards"...

Hello cyberland readers, and welcome to yet another interesting blog post about the ongoings of the young woman named Meaghan.
In our last post, we left our heroine debating the pronunciation of the word "hai". What is she going to do now?

Okay, forget the cheesy opening. In all reality, I am at school, blogging on one of the computers in the library, drinking an orange soda, dreading the fact that I have a mountain of homework assigned and it's only Tuesday. Yep, it's that exciting around here.

However, despite the fact that school is getting down to the wire and I still don't feel quite on top of it, here are some high points for my week/day:

1. I'm having BBQ for lunch.

For those who do not know, I am originally from the St. Louis, MO region, where St. Louis style ribs are a way of life and there are several good BBQ joints to choose from. Here in Colorado, though, the BBQ pickins are slim. Which is odd, because you would think that Colorado, being ranching territory, would have really good, abundant BBQ. Instead, it's more of a Mexican food place. Today, though, my friend Jen and I are leaving campus and heading to Dickies (is that how it's spelled?) for some *hopefully* good BBQ.

2. I don't have to work today.

This is another big highlight for today. I know I complain about work and whatnot, but I really do for the most part like my job. That being said, I love not having to go in on days when I've just put in a full day at school. Like today, when morning came waay too early and math was a drudge. It means that instead, I can use that time to catch up on homework and chores, and that I can relax a bit.

3. There is Improv tonight.

I love improv. I love that I have somewhere I can go where everyone gets my sense of humor, where the laughs are abundant and sincere, and where I don't have to worry for an hour about not having a filter between my brain and my mouth. It is such a rewarding thing. And the people are fantastic, and it's just a lot of fun.

4. I am getting two DVD shipments this week.

That's right. I ordered some more MST3K DVDs from a guy on the MST3K forum I'm a member of and those should be coming in on Wed. if everything works out. I am so ready for "Fugitive Alien", you honestly have no idea. And I ordered a DVD from Cinematic Titanic that should also be coming in this week (see previous blogs for more information). Bring on "the Alien Factor". So it's going to be great, and if I get everything in a good place before they come in, I can spend my weekend watching them all.

5. I'm going to the museum on Friday.

This is another big one. My mom and sister both went last time and said it was fantastic. I get to go this time. I am so thrilled, you have no idea, Cyberland readers...Dinosaurs, birds, mummies - it is going to be great!

I think that sums up the happy part of the week. I really have no complaints about how quiet everything is. In fact, I think my only complaint is that it's supposed to snow this week. I really wish it would rain instead, but oh well. The sun is shining today, I'm having a pretty good day, and as said before, there is BBQ for lunch.

I hope you are all having a great afternoon. Go get something good for lunch.

~Meaghan
Birdgirl90

Friday, April 2, 2010

It's My 100th Post and It's About...

...the correct pronunciation of "Hai" in internet speak.

Yeah, I know. I always thought it was pronounced "hey", but apparently I am a moron, as my younger sister has informed me in no uncertain terms that it is pronounced "hi".

Come to think of it, the more I look at it, the more it looks like it probably would be pronounced "hi". Geez.

And I wasted my 100th blog post for that. Huh. You should be grateful, internet readers. I could have spent that time on something else, like Star Trek and how I really want to enlist in Starfleet, or on how I want Rorschach from Watchmen as my personal body guard, or how I really wouldn't have minded be stranded in space watching terrible movies with the character of Joel Robinson and his robots. And don't even get me started about Oz, Narnia, or Middle Earth...

Think about that.

Okay, I'm tired, this proves it, I'm going to bed. Later, Cyberland.

~Meaghan

Ordering Online No Longer Sucks, or How I Finally Ordered My Cinematic Titanic DVD

It worked. It finally worked.

I have been wanting a Cinematic Titanic DVD for a very long while now. I mean, I rediscovered MST3K last fall break and fell in love with Joel and the bots. When I found out Joel Hodgson and the rest were doing this thing called Cinematic Titanic, I wanted to see for myself if it was as good as MST3K is.

The problem? While MST3K is at the library, Best Buy, and all over youtube, Cinematic Titanic is available only from the online site, www.cinematictitanic.com .

Buying stuff online is slightly scary cause you never know how secure things are. After two months of debate, I attempted to order. You may remember the rant I threw because I couldn't get my debit card to work. I know that technology is hit or miss at best, but it still irritated me.

So I didn't try to order again and went on with my life.

Until today. Today, I decided that it was time to try again. If I got an AVS error again, I was going to give up for good on it and wait until Mr. Hodgson started selling commercially in stores. If not, well, I was going to do a happy dance and wait until my DVD came.

Lo and behold, it worked. I got the conformation page, the conformation email, the order number, etc. I just about jumped up and down in glee. Well, except for the fact that I'm fairly sure my mom wouldn't have appreciated it.

Anyway, it worked. I really do recant all my previous bitching - the internet has flaws and I get that. All I have to do is wait until it gets here so I can watch it and see if it's as good as MST3K.

Now, if I could only get my pack of M&M's open...

~Meaghan, aka Birdgirl90

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Thursday Already?

I don't know why, but I was thinking it was more along the lines of like Wednesday or something. Well, except for the fact that I had lab today which always makes my school day long and that I was going from there to childsitting for my neighbor.

But seriously, this week was sooo long. On Tuesday I was feeling like it was Monday and so on and so forth.

And then I had another revelation, which is that Easter is this Sunday. That's right - Sunday. Where the heck did the first part of this year go? New Year's comes and we all swear we're going to make this year count, and what do you know? I don't remember a good chunk of what I've done this year so far. It's like the train got derailed along the way somewhere like a really cheesy western or something.

Or like a piece of RNA that got derailed while preparing a piece of DNA for duplication.

(Why yes, school does take up a lot of my brain capacity, however did you know??)

But, I think what can happen is for all of us to just keep going forward. I mean, we can't exactly go back and redo stuff anyway (well, unless we had like a hottub that worked as a time machine or something...), and even if we did, I think odds are that we would probably end up making the same mistakes.

So I'm going to enjoy the rest of my week, including my Easter, and I'm not going to worry about squat.

On a different note, today was April Fool's day. My friend and I got pranked by the school janitor, which was exciting...

Janitor: Good morning ladies.

Us: Morning

Janitor: Isn't it beautiful outside? By the way, did you know it's supposed to snow this afternoon?

Me: WHAT.

Jen: Seriously?!?!

Janitor: *continues walking down the stairs laughing* Just kidding. April Fools! It's supposed to be 62 today. Oh, I got you guys good...

Me: Lol, okay, whatever.

Jen: *faux yelling* You suck!

So yeah, that was my exciting day. I totally hated lab today - it was soo freaking long - and so I'm not going to do the lab report. Well, at least, I'm not unless my grade drops significantly over the weekend.

Anyway, I'm tired and rambling yet again.

Later, cyberland readers,

~Meaghan