You know what's awesome and awful at the same time?
A deadline.
deadline: a line or limit that must not be passed, or - ironically enough - a boundary in prison that prisoners can cross only at the risk of being shot.
Deadlines are fascinating creatures. They're difficult to work with most of the time and they make you do the impossible: put your muse in a cage and make her dance on command. Have you ever tried doing that? It's not a very productive or pleasant process and it usually just makes you frustrated. But deadlines also give you structure, a goal. "You must complete something by this date." Even if what you produce is absolute shit it's something. At the very least, a stepping stone to something better and at the most the beginning of something amazing.
You're probably wondering by now why I'm rambling on about muses and deadlines. Or maybe you're not. The people who read this most often probably know exactly what I'm talking about and exactly where I'm going.
I'm just wondering when it became the custom for people to assign a deadline - which is supposed to be pretty concrete - only to just change it on a whim and expect 2 weeks worth of work to be completed in less than half that time... and still be effing amazing.
Anyone want to weigh in here?
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Just Keep Swimming
Posted by Noel at 1:29 PM 1 comments
Friday, February 22, 2008
Bipolar New England
So when I move to Florida I'm thinking I'll get a place within walking distance of the beach. Maybe in Tampa. Tampa was cool. And there will be lots of palm trees, surfers, tans, and HEAT! There will be freakin' heat! And there won't be snow. There won't be winter jackets or snow boots or scarfs or lame hats that make my hair go poof, or dry skin or black ice or super careful driving on unplowed roads. And I'll go walking and get in shape and invest in like 10 cute bathing suits. Maybe I'll get a dog.
If I ever create a band or something it's going to be called Bipolar New England.
Posted by Noel at 4:25 PM 0 comments
Monday, February 18, 2008
uber?
By the way, forgot to mention that I got a page at a site called www.uber.com. It's pretty much myspace, facebook, and blogger all thrown together and it's geered more toward networking and showcasing art than socializing. My URL is www.uber.com/thenoelshow. It's pretty cool and once I figure out what I want to put up for art (and how to get it up there) you'll be able to see it. I'm still figuring out how to navigate it and stuff, so my page will probably change.
Posted by Noel at 6:15 PM 0 comments
Goonie Weekend
Well, not really. More like a girly weekend... kind of... with homework. And lacking some cool girls. But still fun.
You know, when you have mounds of homework every day and then suddenly have a few days of free time, you get insanely paranoid that you're forgetting something and that you have no right to use this time to do something silly.
But that doesn't stop you from doing the silly things anyway.
www.youtube.com/stevethevagina88
See what happens when college students get bored on a long weekend?
Posted by Noel at 4:28 PM 0 comments
Friday, February 15, 2008
Balancing
It seemed like the theme of the day today was balance. Seeing as just about every inch of pavement on campus is covered in ice, just getting to and from class without breaking, spraining, or bruising something was an adventure.
As I am walking from a building on one end of campus to my dorm on the other end, I'm stepping in a lot of big puddles. I think to myself, "Finally this shit is melting! It'll be spring soon," or something along those lines, and I step on a puddle that turns out to be a chunk of ice covered in water. I, wearing my fashionable but non-functioning "winter" boots, slide and start trying to save myself by twisting around and balancing. I didn't fall, but I did wrench my knee pretty good in the process, which came back to haunt me several times throughout the day whenever a similar involuntary ice capade took place or I had to walk up or down a set of stairs.
Other than that, I've also been trying to balance homework with something resembling a social life.
What have we learned from this blog post, kids?
Tread carefully through puddles in winter, know when to give yourself a break from work and have some fun, and never buy "winter" boots because they look cute.
Posted by Noel at 12:35 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Cold As Ice
The one flaw in my move to Florida plan? No snow days!
Since our campus is now a self-maintained ice rink and I'm sure the roads are no different, classes are cancelled today. Woohoo!
And what do I plan to do with a whole day off now that I've slept in and all that? Homework. I'm such a dork. I'll probably watch a movie or two as well. Writing will definitely be in there somewhere. It's days like these I wish I had my xbox up here, but if I did I'd never get any work done. I'd be too busy pretending I was Lara Croft and badass. Although it would be nice to look out my window and see snow while I'm swimming around in a pond in Africa as Lara.
Enjoy the lovely weather.
Posted by Noel at 1:51 PM 0 comments
Monday, February 11, 2008
Anywhere But Here
Did I ever tell you about my plan to move to Florida?
No?
Well, I frequently have this plan to move to Florida, preferrably the Tampa area because I've been there and it kicked ass. The plan sort of revolves around this near-uncontrollable urge I have to not get frostbite. Ever. And to never slip on this magical camellion ice on my way up the hill to class and fall on my ass. Ever. Among other things.
So when these cold winter months of New England come around I make a mental note to move to Florida where it gets hot as hell, but everything is air conditioned and it never snows and barely ever gets colder than 57, which is usually the temperature of my house in the winter anyway. Am I rambling? I think I am.
Anyway, I'm in New Hampshire. It's cold as... well I'd say "cold as hell," but that just sounds silly. But it's pretty effing cold and I'm not liking it. So I'm finding myself playing the Anywhere But Here game as I'm walking up to class in the 13-degree weather that feels like -3 with the windchill. Fun times.
Posted by Noel at 12:25 PM 0 comments
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Time Here All But Means Nothing
Anyone ever notice how time is never balanced?
Either there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything you need or want to do, or the hours stretch on and on and you can't seem to fill them. Whenever you want something to go by quickly and painlessly, it drags on forever and becomes agonizing, torturous. And you think, "End already and get it over with!" But when you want to hang on to a moment, to make it last for as long as possible before letting go, it slips away in the blink of an eye and then it's gone. And you can never get it back. And it's in the empty moments, the days that never end, the days you can't fill up, that you reflect on the moments you've lost. What else can you do when an hour becomes an eternity?
....
Does it shock anyone that I've spent a few hours reading Sartre for a class on Existentialism?
Dreary, isn't it? Which is why I'm not reading anymore of it tonight... which means, since I have more hours of work than I do in the waking day, that I probably won't finish reading the section I'm supposed to. Also my eyes feel like they're about to fall out of my head or explode or both. So they certainly don't want to read anymore tonight.
I hope we have a snowday tomorrow. Otherwise I'm screwed.
Time here all but means nothing
Just shadows that move 'cross the wall
They keep me company
But they don't ask of me
They don't say nothin' at all
And I need just a little more silence
And I need just a little more time
Sarah McLachlan
Posted by Noel at 1:01 AM 0 comments
Monday, February 4, 2008
Talk Hard!
Good afternoon readers (Shannon, Jamie, Christina, and Serah lol). What? How was my weekend, you ask? Well, maybe you didn't ask, but I'm gonna tell you anyway. Friday I woke up, and thought to myself, "A whole day without classes to worry about. What could I possibly do with all this free time? I know, I'll see how much homework I can get done today so I don't have to do any for the rest of the weekend!"
So pretty much all of Friday was spent in Christina's room finishing my Graphic Design and then watching Captivity at like midnight. Thanks for pointing out the obvious blooper, Christina. It totally ruined the movie for me.
Then Saturday I was in a weird bipolar mood so I was back and forth from my room to Christina's. Then Jamie came and hung out. That was nice.
Last night me, Jamie, and Serah watched Pump Up the Volume (Christian Slater, amazing as always). Then we watched The Girl Next Door. I don't care how crude it is, I think it's effing hilarious. After that I went on this crazy internet quest for Christian Slater pictures... and found a shitload at http://www.christian-slater.com/. I put a bunch of them on a screensaver. I'm such a dork. All the pictures I chose, though, are from his heroin and alcohol stage... so Christina, you're not the only one who seems to like those types, apparently. I will say though that for a guy who's old enough to be my dad, Christian Slater is still a very attractive man. He just needs better roles.
Now, other than having a scary amount of Christian Slater pictures on my computer, I also have this weird realization that almost every celebrity crush I have is in the 28-40 range. That's really weird, right?
"If I knew anything about love I would be out there making it instead of sitting in here talking to you guys." - Mark/Hard Harry Pump Up the Volume
"Eat your cereal with a fork and do your homework in the dark." - same as above.
Posted by Noel at 1:15 PM 2 comments
Labels: Captivity, Christian Slater, Pump Up the Volume, The Girl Next Door
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Changes and Observations
As you can see, I've changed my blog look. Who knew there were more templates out there? Anyway, I'm aware the new appearance is pretty loud, but I like it. Let me know what you think since you're the one(s) reading and looking at it.
Now that we got that out of the way, a few observations.
Ladies living in a certain dorm building using a certain bathroom on the second floor: If you pee on the seat, for the love of Mark Wahlberg, clean up after yourself! And don't tell me you don't notice - you PEED on the SEAT!!! There's no way anybody doesn't notice that. More than once, more than twice - in the same week - I've had to wipe pee off the seat before I sat down. I know there are some things in a dorm lifestyle that aren't typical: Dishes other than your own being in the sink; washers in the laundry room being like a quarter of the size of a normal one while the driers are industrial size, and so on and soforth. But I for one learned very early on in life that it is not socially or hygenically acceptable to pee anywhere but IN the toilet, and if you do you clean it up before anyone notices it and you're labeled "Pee Girl" or "Mr. Pee" or, my personal favorite "You're fucking gross".
Oh, and clean your hair out of the god damn drain! Not just the shower, but the SINK. Really, ladies, don't tell me you can't notice this long wookie-like creature that was once your hair swimming around at the bottom of the shower stall. I'll admit I don't always wipe my own drain down when I'm finished... but if I had long, thick, dark hair I would. Always. And don't even try to tell me you can't see your hair in the sink. I went to brush my teeth and it looked like Hagrid had just given himself a haircut above the sink. Grossed out? So was I.
That's all for now. Enjoy!
Posted by Noel at 1:26 PM 1 comments
Friday, February 1, 2008
Things That Make You Go... Huh?
I've spent most of my week working my ass off to get all my homework and reading done, but now that I have a bit of downtime here are some conversations that just made me laugh.
Over AIM (not exactly quoted. Discussing a myspace survey I posted in a blog in which one of the questions was: If you had to marry someone on your top friends, who would it be?)
Nick: I read your blog and I see my name as an answer to a survey question... in the same sentence as "gun to the head."
Me: Hahaha.
Nick: Really, would it have been so difficult to say that out of me, Kevin, Chris, and lesbian marriage, you'd pick me?
Me: Sorry. I just didn't want you to think I was proposing to you via myspace survey.
Talking to Serah at around 8 pm. (not exactly quoted)
Me: "I need some caffeine."
Serah: "So drink some."
Me: "Well, I have a Mountain Dew in my fridge."
Serah: "That works."
Me: "Well, it is after 8... and I do have a class at 10:30 in the morning."
Serah: (beat) "True."
Me: "I could drink some tea. See, I have a range of caffeine here. There's English Tea, which has caffeine, but doesn't really do much at all. And then there's Earl Grey Tea, which is more relaxing than anything else, but does have a bit of caffeine. Then there's good ol' Lady Grey, which has caffeine and will give me a pick-me-up, but not keep me up all night. And then there's Irish Tea... which is pretty much like a Caffeine Fairy coming up behind you and smacking you in the back of the head."
Over AIM (After listening to soundbites from Corey Feldman's 1999 album out of curiosity)
Me: So, Corey Feldman's music? Creepiest shit I've ever heard.
[a few lines later]
Me: It's like meditation/elevator/creepy music.
Christina: lol
Me: Serah was like, "If there's any heavy breathing you're closing that link!"
Me: And there was!!!!
Christina: LOL
Me: So I did.
After taking a wrong exit on the highway while driving with Christina and trying to find our way back to Chester from Haverhill.
Me: "Just think of Mark Wahlberg and everythin will be okay."
Christina: "Everything is okay... but let's think about him anyway."
Added Friday Afternoon
Over AIM (not exactly quoted)
Christina: I just almost had a heart attack I just got so excited.
Me: ?
Me: Naked Mark?
Christina: Timmy's phone can text again!
Me: Ooh.
Christina: Just kinda all the sudden
Me: Even better
Christina: Naked Mark?
Me: Wahlberg.
Christina: Oh. I'd be excited for that too.
Posted by Noel at 12:50 AM 1 comments