me and my serious study face

vassar people know this face well. (totally different than my gragert face, trust me.) because of the constant presence of 'serious study face,' due to the freud/derrida paper o' death (it's about death) and the imminenence of 'the vagina monologues' and women's awareness week, I am forbidding myself any further blogging until s.s.f. goes into remission. I know I've neglected emails to A LOT of people, which violates petersen 2005 resolution #2, but I will catch up on that all post-march 15. (after paper, after the vaginas, after dissertation proposal)

and remember, just because I'm not writing doesn't mean that I'm not thinking of all of you k-p/vass/chi peeps. loves to all.

snowflakes in london!!!

I kid you not people. when I was walking from one library to another (yes, I am using TWO libraries today...nerd, I know), I spotted something like a dozen falling snowflakes! granted, accumulation is going to be zero (I'll be surprised if those little suckers even made it to the concrete before melting), but yee-haw, my first snowflake sighting in this city!

fran bids vassar a dieu.

the day has come: fran ferguson is leaving vassar college. holy canoli.

a moment of silence.

http://collegerelations.vassar.edu/releases/?action=fullnews&id=208

catch up...

okay folks, I've been on a bit of hiatus...blame freud. (I certainly do.) in some short, not nearly concise form, here are bits from the last couple of days.

1. am devoting my week to writing this paper on freud and his concept of the death drive and derrida's application of this concept to the archive. (you're either intrigued by this or you are yawning. I understand both reactions, as I currently embody the two concurrently. amazing.)

2. weekend in antwerp was AMAZING. skvdr (my beloved sarah's new collection of initials) really knows how to plan a great party. everything from accomodations to brunch the morning after was magnificent. after a multi-course dinner (with a champagne-raspberry sorbet in the middle; I love europe!), from which I thought I'd never be able to move again, I spent over four hours on the dance floor. dancing until 5am can get the best of you, but everyone was lovely and, those who stayed around for the dancing bit, were really into it, so when it came time to go, it was a bit of surprise really. though the weather was franticly sporadic (ie sun to wet, mini snowball snow -- you know, when its too warm to actually form small snowflakes and they all just clump together, like little snowballs -- to sun again and then grey), the weekend was lovely. I've made some new belgian friends and am even more happy for sarah to be a part of it all. (though the whole distance from chicago will be a problem in a couple of months.)

3. marci standefer is ENGAGED! jigga what??? yes, yes, yes...one of my most favorite chicago girls is going to be married sometime next summer. who knew that the marci and the young turk saga would come to this point? nevertheless, congratulations all around. (and start working on those endurance exercises for your ring finger. it sounds like it might need it!)

4. my sister jessica is SO cool, which many of you already know. the most recent example is the shaving of her gorgeous, auburn locks to 1/4 inch long! if I had more time, I'd upload a photo of it to my blog. with this trend of changing hair (my blue, her short), this shows how crazy those petersen girls get. (well, that's what most people in kingsley would say. jessica and I...we're all about causing trouble, as indicated by our hair.)

that's all, in short. reading week means that I've only had one class and lots of time working on this paper. nevertheless, there are still things like 'the vagina monologues' and women's awareness week (I had a dream earlier this week in which I recited my lines.), tentative marathon training, and hopes of thinking of a dissertation topic going about here. for karaoke enthusiasts, harry and I took a break this week. check back for the latest on that arena next week.

hope that this finds you all well. I promise more wittisms soon...that is, after the death paper is d-o-n-e.

love to all.

happy valentine's day!

my more ambitious self would have sent you each a bundle of love (probably via email, as this self is still a poor poor grad student), detailing all of the love that I have for you individually. unfortunately, I am a tired self (due to my AMAZING weekend in antwerp; more to come soon), after a day of running and working on my thanatos paper. (thank you freud.)

nevertheless, to all of my kingsleyvassarchicagolondon folk, I send you big hugs and loves specifically today. (doesn't it seem appropriate that you feel warm and fuzzy when, climate-wise, the world is chilly?) have wonderful feb. 14ths!

happy birthday issac edward!

this overwhelmingly loving bubbly boy, who weighs in at 32 lb. (gram is seriously feeding him), will be two tomorrow...whoa mama!

'teenage dirtbag.'

admittingly, I've been feeling a bit overworked in the last couple of weeks. (blame the vaginas.) also, with karaoke becoming a regular part of the week, maybe it's lost all of its glitz, all of its glamour. I had a long rehearsal yesterday. ('tvm' is going to be really good, even if there is a girl in the cast who can't pronounce the 'v' sound. instead, she uses a 'wa' sound. she's a really nice girl and does a really good job, but it is a bit distracting to hear 'wagina.') whatever the reasons, karaoke wednesday was not invigorating, as it usually is. maybe harry and I have hit a slump. we're no longer newbies. we're not yet seasoned veterans. being in some horrible transition state of precariousness is never pleasant. and not that the wheatus bit didn't go off. it just didn't go off as well as I would have liked it too. (do I really have to be so serious about EVERYTHING you ask? I try not to be.)

anyway, karaoke, in all, was lovely. however, I am looking to chill out a bit, have fun, and remember that I'm not hoping to be 'discovered.'

in other karaoke news, big shout to marci and her crew o' drunken sailors last saturday. a-maz-ing marisol. maybe we should plan on a duet?

the evil swedes do it again.

first off, obviously my heading is sarcastic. many of you will realize that straight away if you've heard about my own experience going to the ikea in neasden (zone three, london). I heard about the outcome of the edmonton store's opening this morning on the radio and was shocked. really, what happened to cause these prospective consumers to a mass of frantic anxiousness? certainly, it couldn't just be the prospect of a £35 leather sofa. or could it? crazy things are amiss in ikea land.

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/02/10/ikea.stabbing/

http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_GB/about_ikea/press_room/press_release/international/IKEA_edmonton.html

if the crowd's reaction was ignited with the clock reaching 12:01, what does this say about this society's nature of consumption? what does it say about that specific crowd's apparent need to shop? what about the individual shoppers? dissertation topic, anyone? (have I already mentioned how I seem to think of several topic ideas each day, none which are suitable for my own project?)

anyway, the point of all of this was for me to realize that my own trip to ikea, while long, laborious, and stressful, could have been much, much worse. (a silver lining to it all.)

other bits that I read today that may be of interest...especially useful for any and all procrastination. (such as my own.)

high levels of mercury in shots to children. (obviously, merck wasn't listening to whitney when she sang, 'I believe the children are our future.')

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-vaccine8feb08,0,624328.story?coll=la-home-headlines

hollywood, mega business, and political leaders pow wow on changing the world. let's see what effect this consortium really has. (as in, is 'saving the world' something that ceos/political leaders/film stars will now list on their CVs or is this simply another forum for networking? and will business always control the priortization of issues and the pace of global development?)

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/30/business/yourmoney/30davos.html?ex=1108011600&en=b34ba862c799ca00&ei=5070&oref=login&ex=1109826000

a write-up on murakami's new book, which prompts the question, is 'genius' defined/characterized by 'craziness?' 'eccentricness?' what is it?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/06/books/review/06COVERMI.html

cloning of human embryos in the uk. will a similar bill ever pass congress?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/science/story/0,12996,1408309,00.html

online community building of sorts (one site featured in the article, 43 things, is wicked. http://www.43things.com/home/)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/salon/story/0,14752,1408451,00.html

will I have to use a line like this when I try to find a job with my ma in postcolonial studies?

see today's doonesbury strip at http://doonesbury.msn.com/strip/dailydose/index.html.

answer: god, I hope not.

'i just don't know what i'm supposed to be.'

'you'll figure that out. the more you know who you are, and what you want, the less you let things upset you.'

dissatisfaction in chicago

apparently, marci is less than happy about my last karaoke selection. should there be any songs that people DON'T want me to sing, please let me know before I had them to my repetoire.

email from m.standefer...

Subject: ok u r officially a bitch


not only did you beat me to karaoking, but you sang my song! you bitch! unforgivable!!

ok just kidding, i still love you.

ah, how I miss my mavis and her cheeky ass.

'i touch myself'

I think I may very well give up my current direction in life (which, according to holly, fluctuates between auditioning to churn butter in williamsburg, running some cloak-and-dagger operation, and saving the world) and become a full-time karaoke singer. well, not totally, but karaoke on wednesdays is definitely nudging me into that direction.

the latest debut by one scarlettesque jennifer petersen was the divinlys classic. ah, so so good. my bit came near the end of the night (I actually was getting worried that I wouldn't get to sing...how microphone hungry have I become?), so everyone was really into it. there was one bloke in the crowd who grandiously sang some tom jones song, which was a bit intimidating in the fact that he just sang in such a balls-out fashion. but I guess that's what karaoke is about...not giving a damn and doing what makes you happy. now, why don't we all do that a bit more in our daily lives without microphones in hand? something to think about.

in other news, it looks as if chelsea is going to capture the premiership title after the poor performance by arsenal on tuesday night. united had some excellent goals, though they were a bit scattered on the field when it came to yellow cards. (rooney needs to simmer down.) anyway, the chelsea bit is a grand thing.

aside from all of that, things are well...flittering about like a social butterfly, which is not going to get this death paper done any quicker but will keep me a bit saner. going to antwerp next weekend for sarah & kris's big wedding celebration. it will be lovely to see them again, as well as part of the vaux clan. and the dance floor will be open until 5am...heads up people.

hope that this finds all of you well. sorry if I haven't been nearly as attentive as I've meant to be towards friends and family...I've got a list of people to be in touch with; I'll try to conquer it soon! until then, loves to all.

oh yes, thank you donald rumsfeld.

things we really need to fund...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52564-2005Jan31.html

because we have so many resources to do so.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/26/politics/26deficit.html?hp&ex=1106802000&en=c7126fc1dd9acc44&ei=5094&partner=homepage

I am physically sick by the notion that one of the most powerful administrators (mind you, not a leader) in the government is actively persuing the funding of nuclear bunker busters. my disgust lies in a variety of bases: our country's continued proliferation of nuclear weapons, *which would just do so much good*, the fact that thousands of families do not have enough food, access to health care, proper educational facilities, homes to live in, et cetera ad nauseum, and the continuing focus on developing 'defense.' nuclear bunker busters...not such a defensive method, in my perspective.

what gloom, what despair. (this is me being over dramatic, if you couldn't pick that up already.) oy...just had to get this out.