[mæts] [θɔːts]

Subject: [mæts] [θɔːts]

Date: Monday 10/9/06 4:11:00 AM

Music: Bloodhound Gang – Discovery Channel

I’m now running four keyboards on my laptop; I’m currently perfecting touch-typing transcription in the IPA Keyboard layout put out by the Summer Institute of Linguistics over the next two months at which point I’ll switch over to Hebrew and learn how to touch type that, then back to IPA to make sure I didn’t forget how to touch type the transcription.

I really need to finish coming up with my list of goals so I can cross them off one by one and deal with them (software to master, exams to take, papers to get in order).

I’m also getting more comfortable using Praat for analysis and I’ll be installing the Rossetta Stone Software for Hebrew practice tomorrow evening. I also need to learn some programming languages (over the next few years, maybe four or five) so I can create some software to handle something I think I just discovered (maybe), that would make a unique analysis tool and be fun to play with over all. I mean I can graphically show it myself and do it by hand, but I think it would be neat to have a piece of software that could do it for people and save time. But that goes into the “do when you’re taking a four month long vacation” pile and isn’t something I’m going to devote more than fleeting thoughts too, mainly because I have more important things to work on.

I’m in the process of writing a ten page paper to my family explaining what it is I actually do and why it applies to their daily life. This was spawned because my Grandfather called my Mom to say how happy he was that I called him to tell him how I was doing and he said “It’s always great hearing from him…and he tells me what projects he’s working on…and I have no idea what the hell he’s talking about…”

I need to email Paauw to figure out when I can meet him for Coffee and talk to him about my future plans. He’s pretty impressive, he took 25 years off, ran an ESL Program (and I think functioned as a principle) in a school in Indonesia, so as one who I think has the potential to ‘get me’ he’s one of a few people who I trust to give me the real deal.

I have my first Mid Term on Tuesday (Sociolinguistics) and I’ll be studying for that Tomorrow. I’m flying by the seat of my pants and I’m engulfed in this chaos and I know that there’s order in here – somewhere (maybe under the bed…behind those dustbunnies) – and I try to find it as I walk every morning, having a conversation with God in my head. Actually, we seem to be having a running dialogue throughout the day recently…he doesn’t answer…mostly because I won’t let him get a word in edge wise. As a note, when you see a Rabbi walking around shaking his finger and muttering…he isn’t yelling at himself, just look up at the sky and feel bad for the dude(s/ette(s) up there.

I had a friend ask the other day “YOU’RE ALLOWED TO DO THAT!?” and I was like “what?” and he’s like “tell God you’ll kick his ass!?” and I was like “I do so, on what now amounts to a daily basis…” and he was like “I didn’t think that was allowed…” and I was like “it’s a great stress reliever…” and he’s like “aren’t you worried!?” and I was like “let me tell you the story of Jacob…”

This year is about me perfecting my body…just getting it to the best that it can be before I head out for the next big adventure…I’ve gotten rid of my scales. I don’t want to know how much I weigh, I’m just going by how I look. And right now I’m looking pretty damn good. But I can always do better…but I’m also 22 and I have a liftetime ahead of me to work on it.

I’ve been listening to a lot of Fatts Waller recently (‘The Reefer Song’ a personal favorite of mine). I’ve been listening to a lot of 70’s music too, now that I think about it. I’m gearing up for what I’m going to be writing about for NaNoWriMo (which I may base in either of those time periods). I’m excited. Not like I have the time for this either, but hey, there’s plenty of time to sleep when you’re dead.

My NaNoWriMo book is going to be in the erotica genre this year. I don’t think this surprises anyone.

UB Doesn’t have off for Columbus Day (don’t ask me why, I don’t know, I didn’t make the calendar)…though cosidering Columbus didn’t actually discover anything that wasn’t already inhabited by indigenous people and previously visited by other explorers, the day always seemed kind of odd to me anyway (‘congratulations…you discovered somthing that…was already there…hooray!’)…almost as odd as Thanksgiving (“hey, thanks for the land which we’re about to steal out from under you…hey, here’s some blankets…yeah, wampum, great…anyways, uh…don’t come near us for a while after you use them…small pox and all…oh you don’t need to worry about what that is…okay dig in…stuffing anyone?…this Turkey is so moist!”).

Tonight is dedicated to Arabic Flash Carding (this weekend I actually just caught up on rest instead of studying…but it was a nescessary trade off). I had a girl in my class tell me that I had nice handwriting in Arabic the other day and I thanked her (and I certainly appreciated the compliment). It’s actually entertaining (on a weird, cosmic kind of level) but my handwriting in Arabic is neater than my handwriting in Hebrew which is neater than my handwriting in English. I’ve also been thinking in more Arabic recently. My Arabic Mid Term is either in two weeks or the end of the month (he’s not sure yet…), either way, prepare for me to disappear in short order to go do lines during the day so I can whoop some ass. I’m up against some native speakers and I want the highest grade on the exam.

I’m having a rummage sale with Jacqueline and Chad soon, it’ll be good, I need to raise the money to pay to sit for the CIPP Exam when it’s next offered (sometime in the next 14 months, I want those credentials before I head out of the country). I also have to do some 20 some odd C.E. Units so I can be prepared to renew my pharmacy certification in a year and I just want to get them out of the way so I don’t have to worry about them for three years. I also really need to raise the money so I can take the weekend bartending course (always have fall back plans kids, always have fall backs) as my ‘if all else fails’ deal. I collect certifications at this point…they’re like pringles…you can’t have just one.

Tomorrow I’m going to the gym after my meetings and coffee with Shirah (stoicdaydreamer) and walking on the treadmill while I finish reading my sociolinguistics book (Prof. Roustum swears we learn more if we study while walking) so I can move over to some non-class reading (next on my personal reading list after finishing running with scissors is Ladefoged’s Vowels and Consonants and then Translation and Power).

I really want to go boxing…shit I have to mail out birthday thank you notes…I’ll do that Tomorrow as well. It’s my parent’s 26th anniversary this week and my younger brothers birthday this week as well.

“You make me want to rise an hour early just like daylight savings time, you and me baby ain’t nothing but mamals so let’s do it like they do on the discovery channel.”

I need to go out dancing soon…and also see a little action. Right now, however, I need to get some sleep…five and a half hours of sleep…joy.

Peace all.

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