Oh, Robert, Lauryn, and Erin (Scotty Excluded)

One thing I've noticed about college, especially with regards to writing essays and such, is that some people are complete idiots. Like, seriously, I wonder how they got into college. I am by no means a good writer. I am a decent one, at best. In fact, I think I'm pretty terrible, but there is a noticeable difference between the style and diction of my prose and theirs. Maybe I was really lucky and had fairly awesome lit teachers throughout my years of high school.
Mrs. Robbins was fucking bomb, and taught me how to write decent essays complete with fascinating introductions and Big Idea conclusions. Gahagan was... cool. I don't remember what she taught me. And Mr. Javier's class was a struggle for me to pass and write essays up to his excellent standard. I barely got a B first semester. Catrette's class was a joke.
Okay, well, like the other people's essays in my class, I have no thought and no direction about this blog.
The moral of the story is I guess I write good essays. That's what everyone says. This is terrible. I will never get any feedback on how to make them better. *sad face*

Selfish

Oh yes indeed. I want the economy to be less shitty so I can afford to buy things from Europe like

without paying close to a hundred dollars for it. It's fucking ridiculous! The sweatshirt alone is 37.98 Euros, equivalent to $52. Add on twenty fucking six Euros, a whopping I kid you not $36, for shipping, and you have a ridiculously overpriced, badass, Paulina-sized Amon Amarth sweatshirt. I hate to say it, but fucking swindling Swedes. Don't they realize that most metalheads are poor bastards unless they have Mommy and Daddy to buy them CDs & shirrts with torn vaginas, eaten penises and whatnot on the front?

Also, I don't understand. How can it cost TWENTY FUCKING SIX EUROS for a sweatshirt to ship? Especially if it's a girl sized one, AKA not as big or heavy. Take a look at this Bloodbath jacket.

It's a jacket. You know, a style similar to a sweatshirt. This one is 30 Euros, or $41, INCLUDING shipping within the United States. They tack on an additional 5 Euros, a mere $8, for shipping ANYWHERE outside the United States. So how can the 26 Euros for shipping be justified. Like I said before... Fucking swindling Germans :(
Anyway the moral of the story is... The state of the economy is sad, like the state of my heart.

Epic Mail

I've been expecting a package of Epic Proportions from Brad because he hinted at one. He told me he mailed it Saturday morning so today after my core class, I went to the mail room. I had a letter from Wells Fargo for my Asian self with my Asian debit card. No package slip. I checked the mailing center attendant times, and the person was going to be in at 12. I decided that I would come back and check. An hour later, I came back and I checked! I had a package slip. It said I needed my ID to pick up my package, so I began to sprint back to my room. Halfway there, I stopped because I remembered that I had my ID on me, so I sprinted back. I threw the slip and my ID at the Mailroom Dude, and waited in anticipation. The package slip indicated that it was a small package; however, the box that Brad and I have been using to mail each other things is an average sized shoe box. Not exactly little. The Mailroom Dude emerged with the shoebox, and my excitement increased tenfold. I ran back to my room through the front door to show off my awesome package, then sprinted to my room to open it. This is what I found.

1. Awesome, delicious cookies that Brad baked for me!
2. Stephen King's Insomnia
3. A purple glove from our first doctor's visit together!
4. My swimsuit that I left in his mom's car.
5. Body butter by Yes to Carrots, my new favorite skincare line.
6. A Mach 5 car from Mike, Brad's little brother.
7. A letter<3
8. My green socks that I left in his socks.
9. All five chapsticks (cherry, carrot, melon, mint, & citrus) by Yes to Carrots!
10. Silk pajamas from Brad's grandma that I asked her to make me when I visited back in August!

To Supplement GLORIOUS

This is from Johan Hegg's Kodak moment halfway through Amon Amarth's set at Slim's. I'M IN THIS. Well, a part of me is because I am short. Regardless, this moment has been documented for all of history. See if you can find me! Look towards the middle, then move your eyes slightly to the left. Look for the smallest hand, looking like it is poking into a hairy armpit, and THAT'S ME. Fucking glorious.

Day 18 (10/6/08): Yesterday, I was coming home from work on the bus. At a stop before my college, a metalhead got on! He was wearing some obscure black metal shirt. He walked behind me and I didn't really pay any attention because I was stuck next to the window and some stinky guy. The bus stopped at Kresge and I got off, and I made eye contact with Obscure Black Metal Man. I threw up the horns at him and he glared at me. Sadness.
Day 19 (10/7/08): I spotted someone in a Meshuggah shirt during a break from my Aquatic Toxicology class today. He may or may not be metal.

Total: 17
Legit Total: 11

GLORIOUS

Last night, I went to San Francisco to see AMON AMARTH, one of my most favorite bands.
The Aborted were up first. Nothing spectacular. I got squished against Fatty #1, which wasn't too bad, considering he had cushion. Fatty #2, his friend, was being an annoying fatty. Seriously, his vocabulary consisted of three words & their respective variations: fuck, douchebag, and faggot. And that was what he kept yelling at the Aborted. He continued this through Belphegor. I used to listen to Belphegor a lot. They put on a pretty goodshow, but I don't know. I wasn't too into them.  Then came Ensiferum, which is when it started getting crazy. I got pushed over behind this girl, and I kept getting rubbed on and I felt very awkward. I don't really listen to Ensiferum, so they didn't really matter much to me. They put on a great show though., so that was fun. Then finally AMON AMARTH came on! And it was the best thing ever! I absolutely went crazy even though I was squished. Their setlist was "Twilight of the Thundergod", "Runes to my Memory", "Asator", "North Sea Storm", "Free Will Sacrifice", "Valhalla Awaits Me", "Guardians of Asgaard", "Fate of Norns", "Where is Your God Now", "Where Silent Gods Stand Guard". And then they encored with "Cry of the Black Birds" and "Pursuit of Vikings". It was absolutely crazy and super fun.
After the show, Theo, Heidi, & I waited outside in the rain for Amon Amarth to come out so we could meet them! Little Johan came out first, but then ran into the bus super fast. Ted came out after, and that's when people made their way over. I got his autograph. Then Ollie came out, and he's always hilarious to listen to. I got his autograph as well. And then Big Johan came out! And then I got his autograph too! So 3 out of 5 is not bad, since I have their autographs on pictures & on a CD booklet. The three of us were hanging around chilling, waiting for Frederik and maybe Little Johan. I started talking to Alina, who does lots of band photography and is totally awesome, and one of the road guys, Steve. Then Steve gave Alina and me a five minute hug. It was a little awkward. But it was kind of hilarious. Also, I met Petri Lindroos from Ensiferum and I got a picture with him! Except it's on Alina's camera since mine died.
Best concert ever.

Home

This is the first time I've legitimately gone home this school year, and frankly, I won't be doing it often. Save for concerts and whatnot. I took the Highway 17 Express back from Santa Cruz for $4, and I am never standing up on it again. I got there around 1 o'clock and there was a long line for the bus. Two people before me, the bus driver stopped people from boarding and said that if we were willing to stand the entire ride, and not wait an hour for the next bus, he'd let us on. I thought to myself, Hmmm, I don't want to wait. I'll just stand. Good idea, right? Wrong. It was the worst Highway 17 trip I've ever taken. Complete with nausea and motion sickness, and cigarette-stenched people surrounding me. I will never stand on that bus again.
Now I'm home, and I wish I weren't home. I mean it's nice, but it's different. My parents keep bothering. Everyone's fucked up my stuff. Things are generally annoying. I'm going to go nap and get ready for VIKIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGS.

Mail!

One thing that I have always enjoyed is mail. After several days of opening up my mailbox to emptiness, and sometimes creeper-like behaviors, today, I received mail! Mail, to me, is similar to running downstairs to see what Santa left under your tree on Christmas morning. I love it. I hate empty mail boxes. There's so much fun in seeing a white gleaming envelope, or even a package on your doorstep (in college cases, a slip saying "YOU HAS PACKAGE!" which I have yet to receive). I don't know. It's just fun. I like sending letters, and I like receiving them. So if you want to write me, send me a picture, anything! Even a hair, an ad, a tooth, a picture of the metalhead in your French class (*coughNataliecough*), feel free to do so! I'll email you my address.

Oh and what did I receive?
A paycheck from Longs, mailed by my mommy. Sadly, no letter was attached.
My debit card from Wells Fargo for my Russian self. A somewhat (not) funny story. On Move-In Day, I signed myself up for another debit card, this time from Wells Fargo, for my new Longs paychecks & as my spending account so I can save whatever is in my Bank of America account. Wells Fargo was on campus, so I thought I would seize the opportunity to do so. Everything was all fine and dandy until I went to log on to my Wells Fargo online account several days later to find out that I am now a Russian Asian named Pavlina Dao. (lol, one of my roommates is currently smoking weed with his door open and now my room stinks. Joyous.)
A letter saying that my credit card application that occured in conjunction with my debit card has been denied. I assume that this occured because the idiot who typed all my stuff up thought I was a Russian Asian. I don't need a credit card, however, it would be fairly useful in case I overdraft. Then the bank would just pull the overdraft from my credit card, so I would not have any strange fees. I would just need to pay off my credit card. Lamesies.

Day 12 (9/30/08): Michael the Opeth fanboy. I went to the Porter/Kresge dining hall by myself. Got all my food, and I spotted his semi-long haired, Opeth t-shirt wearing body as I was looking for a place to sit. He is an Opeth fanboy, if that has not yet been made obvious.
Day 13 (10/1/08): Epica boy. Not many people would know who they are unless they listened to metal, so I deem him a metalhead. Impaled boy with afro. Yes, some guy wearing an Impaled shirt. I saw him on my way to class, and presumably he was on his way to class. No words were exchanged, but I did get to throw the horns at him. METAL.

Total: 15
Legit Total: 10