Happy Thanksgiving!

I have a lot to be thankful for this year.

I am generally thankful for being healthy, happy, and living comfortably, in an exciting city, while doing creative work with interesting people. And I am thankful for my diverse friends and family who inspire and encourage me.

I am also happy to be at a point in life where I am comfortable with my independence, but I am also at ease with social events (the very few that I get to nowadays). I am happy my for many of my close friends who have finally found the loves of their lives, many of whom are getting engaged/married.

And I am thankful that this time-sucking school life is temporary! :P

I am also thankful for customizable technology, (even though I know it's hard for you all to understand that I still do not want an iPhone nor a Wii). Today I was tinkering with Google Maps and so I created a map of supply shops for my toy-making classmates (zoom out to get a better overview):


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I am thankful that I can be kind of a nerd, and I have (some) friends who even encourage it instead of mock it. And I am thankful that I can indulge in toys and girly things and justify it as career research.

Now I need to get back to my homework (which I am not so thankful for) so I can go shop up a storm tomorrow (which I am thankful for) with my visiting girlfriend (the awesome one who just finished her Obama campaign gig as a Field Organizer).

And I'm thankful to live in a country that voted for Obama! Woo!

I just wanna DANCE!!!

I have a ridiculous deadline to meet by Thursday afternoon, to draw and present a LINE of eco-themed toys and my class is freaking out.

In the meantime, we've de-stressed ourselves by having spontaneous dance-fests in our tiny computer room, all junior-high school wannabe style.

...Meaning, we pull up an awesome dance video on the computer and try to copy all the moves... very poorly.

So far we've tried "A Million Ways" and "Here It Goes Again" (sans treadmills) by Ok Go, as well as "Miss you Much" by Janet Jackson. So far the gay guys are doing the best at it.

But right now our favorite is Beyoncé's new single, "Single Ladies." Yes, this is the one that was hilariously (and disturbingly) spoofed last weekend by JT & Paul Rudd on SNL.

But you should know that the original dance routine is truly fantastic. It is like that crazy Ann Margaret from Elvis's Viva Las Vegas meets Tina Turner's legendary dance crew:



We cannot get enough of it! And I love how the video is shot simply in black & white and basic leotards. Beyoncé's like, "Gurrrrl, I don't need no scenery. Just gimme some music and I will blow your mind."

Basically the gay guys, Lilo, and I try to do the dances, (while avoiding colliding into desk chairs and hapless passerby toy design students) and the straight guys are just amused as they look up from their sketching. The junior class and probably a few silent seniors are probably completely annoyed with us. But that's what headphones are for!! (The juniors will understand when they start breathing all that Bondo and get Professor Lo's assignment.)

ANYway, Beyoncé is my hero. (Except for that bizarro hand armor. I mean, I like robots, but that is just ridiculosity.)

So we will all be practicing that dance routine over winter break... to lose some weight and also so we can perform it for graduation. Or next Halloween, with everyone in leotards and shaved legs. Lilo and I will battle each other for the role of Beyoncé in an ultimate dance-off.

Who cares about designing toys anyway?

Washing Lady Parts

A couple months ago, I had another English 101 session with Jee:

Jee: What is "douchebag?"

Lilo: Hahaha. Yeah [Misocrazy], what is a "douchebag?"

Me: Jee, what have you been watching on tv? Or was it a movie?

Jee: I don't know, I heard it somewhere...

Me: Hmm. Well, "douche" is actually a French word, I think meaning to wash, like for a bath. But in English it's specifically something you use to wash your... "lady parts."

Jee: So why is it a bag? You use a bag to clean?

Me: I guess it's like a bag of douche? Huh. I don't even know how douches work!

Lilo: Yeah I don't know either. Do people even use those anymore?

Me: I don't know... they're not even supposed to be good for you. But anyway, "douchebag" is like another way to describe a jerk.

Lilo: yeah, a "douchebag" is like another way to say "asshole." But it's more funny than mean. Douchebags are funny.

Me: Yeah but it could still be used in a mean way. I guess the idea is that a "douchebag" is really disgusting. So if you call a guy a "douchebag," the connotation is more like you're saying the guy is disgusting? I don't know, how do you even describe a typical "douchebag"?

Lilo: Like, he's a retarded jerk. Or like he wears crocs.

Me: Hahaha. There is a certain type of guy you think of when people say "douchebag." Like he's tacky? I can't think of a specific "douchebag" example to give you right now, but when I do, I'll let you know.

--

And whaddaya know! This week I became a Douchebag Magnet!

At the Toy Design classroom, I was busily working on my hard-toy model shop class, running back and forth between the model shop and my worktable when this happened:

Member of the Junior class: Hey [Misocrazy], come over here.

Me: Why?

Junior: Can you draw something for me?

Me: (Looking at him like he's crazy) I don't have time for this! What's this for?

Junior: Hands me a sheet of paper, strewn with various cartoonish drawings of penises.

Me: Is this referring to "Superbad," the movie?

Junior: No... all the girls in class have drawn on it.

Me: (returning the sheet back to him) I have no interest in this.

--

Then, while taking the subway train home with my iPod earbuds in, after 11pm on a Saturday:

Subway dude: (Saying something to me, trying to get my attention)

Me: (taking iPod earbuds out) What?

Dude: Are you from China!?

Me: I'm American. (attempting to put earbuds back in)

Dude: (unintelligible, as we are in a moving SUBWAY TRAIN, and he is talking to me from like 6 feet away)

Me: What?

Dude: (unintelligible)

Me: What?

Dude:(unintelligible)

Me: What?

Dude: Are you married!?

Me: (Pause.) No.

Dude: Do you have a man?

Me: (Pause.) No. (attempting to put earbuds back in)

Dude: (gets up to sit next to me) You're not married?

Me: No. (putting earbuds back in)

Dude: (gestures phone number with his hand) Can I get your number?

Me: (begrudgingly taking earbuds out) I don't really have time for dating.

Dude: Why not?

Me: I'm too busy for that right now.
(And you are a douchebag.)

Dude: You can make time. You should make time for these things.

Me: Um, well I'm not making time for that right now. (attempting to put earbuds back in)

Dude: Why? You don't like me?

Me: I guess not. (putting earbuds back in.)

Enough with the Stupidity

I just got a message on MySpace, from a 19-year old, asking if I would take his virginity away. Ahh, deluded (deranged) youth!

Not even I, who cannot find the time to meet anyone new, am desperate enough for that!

I was hoping that as men got older, they would be less stupid. But I think they just find other ways to be stupid. Take this recent response I got from a 30-year-old on an online personals service:

"I have some misgivings about your name (I mean because like what is it a reference to--peanut butter cups? Regular ones?) and I can't really teach you any kind of interesting athletic stuff (the best I can do is try to teach you to ice skate or convert you to into a Steelers fan) but we are both, unquestionably, year-oriented, and there aren't too many of us floating around."

So... what he's trying to tell me is that he thinks my screen-name is lame, and he can't teach me anything fun to do, but he's reaching out to me because we're both over the hill?

Bear in mind, this guy had listed himself as a writer. I think he's actually trying to sound charming. Hrm.

I'd like to note that I've always dated nice guys. But "nice guy" is not enough anymore. When we were young, I figured the nice guys I dated had time to evolve and mature into a nice guy who was also the kind of man I'd want to be with for life. ...Meaning they'd keep me inspired and be the kind of person I could count on. (And I'd do my best to offer the same for them.) But... that didn't happen.

Also, how hard is it to be a nice guy anyway?

(This does not mean I will start dating "bad boys." I am not that stupid. I still require thoughtfulness in a future partner.)

At this point in life, (over 30s), if a guy is immature, unreliable, or uninspiring, I don't expect them to figure that out anytime soon. It maybe too late for them, without some professional help (like seeking therapy). To me, it also shows a lack of priorities in their lives. Or simply stupidity. Unless they have Asperger's Syndrome (That would still require some therapy training.).

But this is all moot, because I don't have time for meeting new people, much less date!

So bye-bye online personals! I've taken my last ad down... and now I should get back to work. I've got some monster-drawing and gorilla-building to do.

Look at the KITTY!

Last Thursday, my laptop refused to start up. So now it is in the shop for TWO WEEKS. OMG, right?

As soon as they took my baby away to get mailed to the service center, I switched to mobile phone mode, texting my friends and using it to check email and Facebook. And then I thought, "Well, maybe it will be good for me to not have a computer for awhile. Maybe I will get more sleep this way. Or actually take time to see friends and family outside of school."

Well, I won't know how that is, because the Toy Design chair (who apologized about stressing us out on Election Day) very generously got our IT guy to lend me a MacBook!!! Phew.

She just doesn't want me to fall behind on our design work. No excuses for me!! I kinda like how small this MacBook is so I don't have to carry extra weight to school...

In other news, I had to get up before 6am this morning to register for classes. OMG again. And I will be taking an online class for the first time next semester. It's a whole new frontier.

But I think it was worth it, because I will likely have FOUR DAY WEEKENDS next semester. Holy mother of GOD I cannot wait!! (Except for the part where I still have to take Liberal Arts classes in U.S. History and Indian Art History. And I will surely have so much homework that it will take at least half my weekends away.)

BTW I did dress up as Kenley from Project Runway for Halloween. Not many people really got it, but they did like my makeshift feather barrette. I liked it so much that I think I'll go buy some real feather headpieces.

Also, just as I finally started to get comfortable with my blunt bangs, Xtina and Madonna got them too. But I think they look a little weird on Madonna. I think I'll keep mine for a little while, as they transition from Bettie Page to Francoise Hardy length.

Not related... but I have to share this video, because even thought I'm not a cat person, this cat (aka "Maru) is pretty darn awesome:



Thanks to boingboing for bringing that into my life. Also thanks to BK for informing me that Barack Obama is a Scrabble fan (of course!) and once owned a pet ape.

Ok, taking a nap now. Got a math test tomorrow. OMG!!!

Yes we can! Yes we did!

For once in a long time, I was excited to vote today. And for once I was optimistic, and I felt happy to be an American.

I voted for the first time as a New York resident, and even though the volunteer at the voting station was a bit rude, distracted, and could barely figure out the alphabet to look up addresses properly, I was happy to get in that voting booth.



As an extra treat, they had this crazy contraption with switches and a giant red lever, unlike the quiet little computerized voting booth I used back in Palo Alto.

Sadly, after voting, I was cooped up at school all day until after 9pm. And sadly, our storybook teacher got upset with us. She even spoke to our computer rendering teacher about it, and he said he had never seen our storybook teacher so upset before. It appears she is suddenly upset that we are behind on our big storybook project.

We are confused by it, because we all work hard all day on schoolwork until late at night, every day, (except for maybe Sundays when we finally get to clean our clothes, homes, and ourselves. Even on Sundays, half my class still goes to school). Maybe we worked too much on our other toy design projects, but really, we have too much to do, in a realistic sense.

It feels wrong that she would be so upset at us over this. So, sadly, I couldn't go out to the election parties or bars to share the joy of this historic day with the rest of New York. I couldn't even join my cousins uptown to just watch it on tv. Instead, I went home to catch up on schoolwork. With the tv on, of course!

But this is such a historic day. This is bigger than a cranky teacher or my grades in a storybook class. I can't let that ruin this happy, historic moment. We are part of a country that can not only accept, but even choose, with enthusiasm, an interracial president! We will have a president that we can be proud of. Even in a sinking economy, have hope and enthusiasm! Obama has a big job ahead of him, but for once we have someone we believe in.

And an extra shout-out to Jennifer Lau, who isn't even an American citizen yet, who left all her loving friends in San Francisco to work on the Obama/Biden campaign as a field organizer in battleground states. Yay! Thanks to everyone who voted! You are the best!