tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33625372011-04-21T22:19:45.903-05:00nonsequiturJust a place to vent on random topics, ranging from the high-minded to the low-brow.Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3441100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1150383978883114552006-06-15T09:46:00.000-05:002006-06-15T10:06:18.950-05:00Who's Paying for All This Anyway?The current trend in government is to promise big things and no new taxes. We've seen it in Texas, where the Republican majority took YEARS to come up with a working way to continue financing a basic service -- the public school system -- because they also promised to cut the taxes people pay to support this system. This story from San Antonio is evidence of the Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1147722802791335132006-05-15T13:58:00.000-05:002006-05-15T15:27:26.850-05:00Set your radium-dial watches for 1984!Read this post on the ABC news website. And then check out the first few comments from all the knee-jerk patriotic I-just-saw-this-on-Fox-News-at-the-Cracker-Barrel people who have absolutely no concept of how scary this is.If you're not scared yet, you damn well should be.Open government and a free press are what keeps our mass society functioning as a (Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1145376911968807982006-04-18T11:13:00.000-05:002006-04-18T11:15:11.976-05:00You didn't know you needed anarchist ice cream, but you do: See the Tactical Ice Cream Unit!Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1144252254814707732006-04-05T10:10:00.000-05:002006-04-05T10:53:20.356-05:00Kenneth Dale Mason, Jan. 23, 2006 - Mar. 29, 2006My family got some very difficult news last week -- my sister's 2-month-old son, named after her father, died early Wednesday morning...a mysterious and tragic incident of sudden infant death.The funeral was last Friday. I took off work and convinced my mom to make the drive with me to Greenville, east of Dallas -- at first she didn't want to go Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1143010890501541182006-03-22T00:56:00.002-06:002006-03-22T01:03:26.830-06:00Hey, this blog needs more pictures!So, I'm a nerd girl. Which is why I think this picture is awesome:My level 60 mage in World of Warcraft is ranking up nicely and getting some cool gear, including these scary-looking horns I was able to buy today. Not important in itself, I was just imagining a world where you start wearing really ridiculous hats to signal to others that you command some sort ofIrisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1142964988100230482006-03-21T12:13:00.000-06:002006-03-21T12:16:28.116-06:00So it starts alreadyThat you're just going through the motions, babyYou can throw confettiBut you're still going through the motions, babyGoing through the motions, baby...-- Aimee MannYeah, this is me lately, in a lot of ways...Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1142616685903139182006-03-17T11:27:00.000-06:002006-03-17T11:31:25.913-06:00From this trailer, it looks like "Snakes on a Plane" is definitely about...well, you can guess. I was kinda hoping the title wasn't a completely literal description of what the movie will contain. I'll still watch it of course...but I really hope they fix some of the bad CG work seen in this trailer! (Look for the part where a snake comes out of a fat lady's blouse).Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1142552530811850272006-03-16T17:09:00.000-06:002006-03-16T17:42:10.920-06:00Scared of needles and knivesLast Halloween, something truly spooky happened to me...I found a lump in my left breast. Freaked the shit out of me of course, so I went to the doctor for the customary sonogram & fine-needle biopsy, and it appears the tumor is benign. Whew. The doctor still recommend that it be taken out a) just in case, and b) so the tumor doesn't grow into some hugely disgusting Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1142524923996331672006-03-16T10:00:00.000-06:002006-03-16T10:02:04.016-06:00Wha?This morning when I got to work and went to the Austin American-Statesman website (because I'm actually at a loss for things to do for once), this was the top headline:Hamburger patties blocking two lanes of I-35 SouthTwo tractor-trailers involved in accident near Slaughter, lanes should be cleared by noon.I take this as a sign that today is going to be a ridiculous day.Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1142372593556712812006-03-14T15:35:00.000-06:002006-03-14T15:43:13.566-06:00The Death Thread, ContinuedYou may have seen this tragic story that made the national news, about the reigning Miss Deaf Texas being killed by a train. This happened in my neighborhood -- I go over these railroad tracks about every other day. And that's not even the most fucked up thing...the local newspaper is reporting that she was killed by the train's SNOWPLOW, in 80-degree weather in the Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1142290124622410062006-03-13T16:42:00.000-06:002006-03-15T13:09:18.646-06:00SXSW can eat a dick.I knew it was time again for South by Southwest when I was driving back from San Antonio and the traffic choke point was down south of Slaughter lane rather than its usual Riverside Dr. environs. Since I usually try to avoid I-35, I guess that's not such a big deal to me, but then I thought about the wrist bands. A limited supply of those things for $150 pretty much guaranteesIrisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1142271202175464132006-03-13T11:26:00.000-06:002006-03-13T11:33:22.176-06:00File this under "Time Wasters"....I am a connoisseur of ways to make my working environment more comfortable (read: dick around and waste time)...which is why I have been logging onto Pandora almost every day now. With a free registration, you can make radio stations based on music you already know you like, which will deliver new songs and artists that have similar characteristics. If something Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1142270110121158792006-03-13T10:17:00.000-06:002006-03-13T11:15:10.206-06:00Facing MortalityIt's as if Death keeps sneaking around in my backyard and throwing pebbles at my window. It's kinda creeping me out.First, I learned that a long-time acquaintance from my days as a "capper" (more on what that means can be found in this post) passed away last month. Bert died of congestive heart failure at just 43 years old. He was a witty and loveable addition to our crew of Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1142126029083300392006-03-11T19:06:00.000-06:002006-03-13T10:17:31.276-06:00I have returned!It's been about two years since I've posted anything on my blog. Finishing grad school, meeting Robert, and landing a full-time job didn't leave much time to post introverted ramblings for distant friends and digital strangers. College also pretty much killed my creativity. And if I had anything funny or interesting to say, I'd say it to Robert. But now that he's moved to find a Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1080277679833443752004-03-25T23:07:00.000-06:002004-03-25T23:10:31.513-06:00Get in the back seat, grad school, you bitch...
Damn...looks like I've been neglecting the ol' blog again. I've been busy with actually having a life lately, and it's pretty nice. Over Spring Break last week, I finally got a car with the money I've been trying to save up for the last 4 years -- I talked the dealer down from $5950 to $4600 for a '95 Honda Civic with 120,000 miles and a great Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1074661547940734372004-01-20T23:05:00.000-06:002004-01-20T23:09:28.496-06:00We're taking on a climb
And it's long enough to put the best of us on our backs
Walking up a slide
And there are those we know who'd have us five miles off the tracks...
~ "Fighting in a Sack"
I know I haven't written for a while -- I took the holiday off from this too. But I'm back now, and working as hard as ever. I couldn't choose between being a TA and an assistant news editor, so I chose Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1070748355046338342003-12-06T16:05:00.000-06:002003-12-06T16:06:36.950-06:00New job! That's good...right?
I got the job offer to be a teaching assistant in the architecture computer lab next semester. That means I likely wouldn't have enough time to work at the newspaper, a job I love, but which doesn't quite pay me enough.
The new managing editor has asked me to be an assistant news editor. I wonder if I might be able to do both...I work with another girl who is alsoIrisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1070748265477626962003-12-06T16:04:00.000-06:002003-12-06T16:05:39.670-06:00The Week From Hell
This semester has flown by pretty quickly. So imagine my surprise when all my classes came to an end and I had a couple of 20-page papers and a statistics project due. Panic!
No, it wasn't really a surprise...just a situation that tested my limits as a procrastinator. I started on those two case studies early, but they really are a lot of work, so there was a lot to do at theIrisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1068701511328013292003-11-12T23:31:00.000-06:002003-11-12T23:31:48.420-06:00Can I have a tin can with wheels please?
I am so, so fucking sick of not having a car.
My lack of independent transportation has shaped everything in my life from where I can live, where I can work, and what friends I can see. Everything has to be within easy reach of a bus stop or someone willing to cart my ass around. I've made it work, just like everything else, but the whole situation at Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1068067537933943462003-11-05T15:25:00.000-06:002003-11-05T15:28:28.360-06:00Creative deprivation
I heard this great feature story idea yesterday -- a girl sent an e-mail out on my graduate program's listserve about a friend of hers whose mother has cancer and is going into chemotherapy. Her friend wants to go be with his mother in Oregon, but he can't afford the trip, so he's resorted to asking for donations or frequent flyer miles from strangers.
This is the kind of Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1068021825175822052003-11-05T02:43:00.000-06:002003-11-05T02:50:01.130-06:00Sometimes I wish the Earth's paper situation would get so dire that unsolicited, wasteful junk mailing would be illegal and even morally reprehensible. For the 100th time, NO, I don't want another fucking credit card!
Now halting junk e-mails, that's harder. They're like roaches. It's gonna take a lot more than overconsumption of the world's natural resources. Hmm. Let me think of something...
Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1067832413282377212003-11-02T22:06:00.000-06:002003-11-02T22:06:52.073-06:00We'll look back at this and laugh...
I know I'm taking my blog back to 8th grade level by posting an IM conversation -- especially one with another conversation embedded inside it -- but what can I say, my standards for content are low tonight. At least we have a sense of humor about getting chased home by nasty men on Halloween.
AnneV: i think we can pinpoint our perpetrators from the other Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1067681148986089252003-11-01T04:05:00.000-06:002003-11-02T22:09:43.480-06:00A seriously spooky Halloween
It started out as a pretty good night...I dressed up as Trinity from "The Matrix" in some pleather pants and a vinyl tank top, and about 12 of us went down to the big Halloween bash on 6th Street. People liked my costume -- I even got a couple of free drinks because the bartenders liked it. A girl even hit on me...that was a first. Haha.
Toward the end of the night,Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1066625202550830912003-10-19T23:46:00.000-05:002003-10-19T23:46:42.260-05:00The "hills" of East Austin
I went on a little field trip around the city with the famous Prof. Davies and the UT Geography club on Friday -- not your usual tour of the Capitol and South Congress and all that stuff, but to places most people would never think of stopping.
First stop was the UT Tower, so everyone could get a feel for the layout of the city and the mish-mash of architecture Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1066002249319355292003-10-12T18:44:00.000-05:002003-10-12T18:44:08.860-05:00Okay, so I'm an idiot.
Several people have informed me recently that my comments system is all messed up and displays "0 comments" even when there are some. I knew it wasn't displaying my archives, but otherwise I just figured no one was reading my page anymore since I've been neglecting it. So -- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ignore anyone! Kiss kiss.
I'll get around to setting up a new comments Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1065855278763712982003-10-11T01:54:00.000-05:002003-10-11T01:54:38.170-05:00I feel like making a lot of changes lately -- I want to lose weight. I want to get a different haircut. I'm already thinking about what to be for Halloween.
Something is just not right or comfortable and I can't put my finger on it.
I'm not good at being alone anymore. I want to be around people I like, but it's frustrating, because they're too busy or just don't want to be around me. It Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1065854082838808412003-10-11T01:34:00.000-05:002003-10-11T01:34:42.530-05:00So...this maintaining a blog thing has been a little difficult in the past few months. And forget about that old Web page I used to have. I meant to do a redesign on that sometime back in March and still haven't gotten to it. Nor have I written thank you notes for birthday gifts I got back in mid-August. THAT's the really bad one.
The short story is that too much has been going on to keep up Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1061080873954059642003-08-16T19:41:00.000-05:002003-08-16T19:41:14.010-05:00Yeah, I know, I haven't updated in a long time...a really long time. I have good reasons though. For my 21st birthday last Saturday, my roommate Marisa and I drove down to Las Vegas and met a few friends of hers and mine. One of her friends got us a discounted rate on a room several of us shared, and we stayed 3 nights at Treasure Island for a total of $70 each. I would definitely do it again, weIrisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1059435186707329712003-07-28T18:33:00.000-05:002003-07-28T18:33:39.550-05:00A friend of mine just sent me a link to this little sticker shop with some simple but funny iconoclastic stickers. I think my favorites are the "We're fucked" and "Property of Halliburton" ones. Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1059005177101164362003-07-23T19:06:00.000-05:002003-07-23T19:17:55.733-05:00770-657-1021
Has anyone else gotten calls from this number? I've gotten a couple and no one leaves a message, so I decided to look up the number online to see where the calls were coming from. Apparently there's a lot of mystery swirling around this number and there are several Internet sites speculating about its origin.
It seems to be a calling card number, so if anyone using a certain Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1059001702417927352003-07-23T18:08:00.000-05:002003-07-23T18:25:34.656-05:00I came dangerously close to losing my sister today.
Cindy cleans houses for rich people living in this resort area on Lake LBJ near her home. She does everything herself and the people she was cleaning for weren't home, so she was alone on this multi-acre estate. While she was outside cleaning windows, a bee stung her on the back of her head.
She had been stung before not too long ago and had Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1057740009948966902003-07-09T03:40:00.000-05:002003-07-09T03:40:58.546-05:00Well, that concert was very...sensitive...
Marisa and I went to see this John Mayer/Counting Crows concert that rolled through here tonight. The weather couldn't have been nicer...it was at this new outdoor amphiheater (actually, it didn't even look finished) with the mountains turning shades of indigo and purple in the sunset behind the stage.
Surprisingly, Counting Crows took the stage firstIrisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1057394805882548662003-07-05T03:46:00.000-05:002003-07-05T03:46:45.920-05:00Fourth of July
Holidays can be depressing when you're away from home and all your friends. Luckily I had a good time here today. I made mango salsa and used a great recipe for citron salmon, and Marisa and I cooked this huge feast with shishkabobs and fruit salad and beans and other stuff.
Unfortunately, I had to go to work before it was all finished cooking. And even more unfortunate -- no Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1056872874177069712003-06-29T02:47:00.000-05:002003-06-29T03:31:20.040-05:00Update: Since the Supreme Court's ruling that affirmative action is legal, the University of Texas is going to reinstitute some kind of affirmative action program that was discontinued by the Hopwood decision, plus keep its Top 10% Program (which virtually guarantees anyone who graduates in the top 10% of their high school class admittance to a public university).
While the Top 10% Program is Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-3854164552003-06-25T14:31:00.000-05:002002-12-02T22:57:46.820-06:00Bucket of Christ, as Rusty Todd would say...college is making me miserable. I pulled an all-nighter to finish a linguistics project that looked more and more wrong the longer I looked at it. Last-minute changes on that meant that I had to spend much more time on it than I meant to, leaving very little time to slap a budget together for my magazine class at noon, but I BSed enough to keep my Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1056412759952703862003-06-23T18:59:00.000-05:002003-06-23T19:00:11.296-05:00So, the Supreme Court upheld affirmative action in public university admissions policies.
Without getting into a full-fledged argument or criticism, because people on all sides of the issue make good points, I have this to say:
It doesn't make a difference anyway.
If people haven't learned to recognize stereotypes for what they are -- simply shorthand renderings of different groups of people Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1055922166199561032003-06-18T02:42:00.000-05:002003-06-18T03:29:21.470-05:00My roommate is cool, but...she really likes Sigfried and Roy, and David Hasselhoff. Not in a joking way either. There's Sigfried and Roy calendars in our place (complete with a disturbing picture of Sigfried in nude, post-coital glory, smoking a cigarette) and her computer's desktop background is a photo of Hasselhoff wearing nothing but a banana hammock and a leather jacket.
That's cool. It Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-1055409184252026012003-06-12T04:13:00.000-05:002003-06-13T17:58:40.426-05:00Ha...I gotta have one of these.
Thank God there's someone around here with a sense of humor and a beer.Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-955184032003-06-10T14:34:00.000-05:002003-06-10T14:34:34.420-05:00I made it to Salt Lake City okay, after some minor drama...
First, I stayed up late packing the night before I had to leave, and then woke up just one hour before my flight was supposed to get off the ground. I missed it, but luckily they were able to put me on another more direct flight that actually got me up there quicker.
Then when I was getting on the plane, which was a small regional jet Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-953808992003-06-06T13:42:00.000-05:002003-06-06T13:43:01.000-05:00Farewell, Interns
Sorry for the lack of updates everyone, but the pace of my life has picked up pretty intensely getting ready for this Salt Lake City trip. At the moment I'm packing up my stuff at the UT dorms to move out after our copy editing internship training. It was so much more fun than I expected -- the 12 other interns are great and keep me laughing so much that my stomach hurts pretty Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-948404982003-05-24T17:36:00.000-05:002003-05-24T17:36:22.496-05:00
After an exhaustive search I've found a decent place to live in Salt Lake City -- I'll have a room in a two-bedroom apartment I'll share with a part time graduate student with a full-time job. It costs about $370 a month including utilities and it's within a mile of work...not bad. But it sucks that I still have to pay rent here in Austin.
But the more things get settled, the more things keep Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-945681742003-05-19T01:35:00.000-05:002003-05-19T01:35:35.566-05:00Oh, NOW my camera works. Little bastard.Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-945285332003-05-18T02:34:00.000-05:002003-05-19T01:35:13.000-05:00Aww...it's all over!
I've spent the past two days going through the various graduation ceremonies to celebrate completing my bachelor's of journalism degree. That's right, you're talking to a girl who got a BJ from UT. It's been pretty hectic and not always enjoyable or memorable, but at least it turns out my small family did not self-destruct upon converging on the same spot.
Friday afternoon Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-943183552003-05-14T04:08:00.000-05:002003-05-14T04:08:43.570-05:00Did anyone notice that the University now has its own writers style guide? This is HilAAAArious.Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-943178912003-05-14T03:51:00.000-05:002003-05-14T03:52:35.000-05:00The FCC is considering a rule change on June 2 to deregulate media ownership rules that restrict cross-ownership of media outlets in local markets.
Okay, in English please -- that means one company would be allowed to own the major television stations, newspapers and radio stations in your city if the rules are changed. One corporate hand overseeing all your media needs. One commercial running Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-941931472003-05-12T04:14:00.000-05:002003-05-12T04:15:55.000-05:00Let the Mormon jokes begin
Out of the blue on Thursday morning, I woke up to a phone call from one of my professors saying there was a last-minute opening in the Dow Jones internship program, and he wanted to know if I'd be available to take it this summer.
Two words: HELL YES!
The internship consists of two weeks of training here at UT and then a summer on the copy desk of a major newspaper (Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-939748372003-05-08T00:57:00.000-05:002003-05-08T01:04:00.000-05:00Feels good to be finished...right?
Tuesday...what a miserable day. My architecture project on the history of transportation changes in the Clarksville area of Austin -- the only grade in the course -- went horribly. It was alright until a couple of guys who presented their project before me ended up doing the same exact thing, and they did a better job (they weren't originally teamed up and Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-937874452003-05-05T02:11:00.000-05:002003-05-05T02:12:43.000-05:00After a lengthy conversation in which my father basically told me my work at the Texan has been a complete waste of time and I'd be better off working at a McDonalds, it's clear my father is truly out of touch with me and how I've spent my time in college.
He doesn't understand that I am sick of wasting hours each week waiting for buses, getting slobbered on and leered at by stoned, drunk, crazyIrisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-937647212003-05-04T17:32:00.000-05:002003-05-04T18:31:28.000-05:00Things are finally slowing down since the last day of classes passed Friday and I finished a major test and 15-page research paper. Last night I covered the city elections, and actually had a great time -- I met all of the winning city council candidates and the two that are in a runoff, heard perennial candidate Jennifer Gale harping on everyone for not covering her campaign, and socialized withIrisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-932852612003-04-26T02:03:00.000-05:002003-05-05T02:17:21.000-05:00It was bound to happen sooner or later...
When the police came to the party after the TSP banquet tonight at midnight, I was successfully able to lie to them about my age. When they ask for an ID, "I don't have it on me, sir" and telling them quickly I was 21 passed the test for a good answer. I was standing on the porch outside of an apartment with a lot of other people, which had apparently Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-928555922003-04-18T15:30:00.000-05:002003-04-18T15:30:36.090-05:00Government isn't always the bad guy...is it?
It's official...Barton Springs Pool has been declared safe to swim in after a 90-day closure, despite a series of stories by the Austin American-Statesman that were comparing it to a Superfund site. The city manager made the decision today, but I got to write a story about the coming decision last night, and we beat the city newspaper with the Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-924042502003-04-10T22:36:00.000-05:002003-04-10T22:52:23.000-05:00I love it. I hate it.
Everyone's tension level goes way up toward the end of the semester, and that's making work get a little crazy. I thought I was the only one who intensely hated my job at times, but I'm not alone...I heard variations of "I hate this job"/"I want to quit right now"/"I don't care if I get fired" from at least 5 people today. We sit around and sympathize and then yell at each Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-918952142003-04-02T23:45:00.000-06:002003-04-02T23:45:48.360-06:00Sorry for the lack of posts lately...I've been really busy and worn down, and I don't have much to say. I feel like I've been working so hard for so little lately, but at the same time everything else is going well -- I'm about to graduate from college, I'm relatively healthy except for a few extra pounds that are making my pants too tight (ugh, gotta work on that), and even the weather has been Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-911569042003-03-21T19:39:00.000-06:002003-03-21T19:39:36.293-06:00This is the best news story ever. That soldier is already my hero without leaving Ohio.Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-911058812003-03-20T23:12:00.000-06:002003-03-21T18:13:54.000-06:00Even I have to admit, the coverage of this war so far is pretty damn cool. Watching CNN this evening, I've really been struck by the advances in reporting out in the field, especially in the reports by Walter Rodgers. You can see live videos of tanks racing across the tan sands of an Iraqi desert toward a flat horizon occasionally dotted with bedouin tribes, and then when they stop for a break, Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-910413712003-03-19T23:42:00.000-06:002003-03-20T07:15:00.000-06:00War...sort of.
So, we've bombed Baghdad in a "decapitation strike" to try to kill Saddam, which is a de facto act of war. But during his address tonight, President Bush did not declare war or even use the word to describe the military action taken tonight. I still don't support this unprovoked attack...but at this point, if they're doing it, why don't they just call it what it is? Congress has Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-908799892003-03-17T16:17:00.000-06:002003-03-18T03:00:55.000-06:00N'awlins, y'all
Finally, I had a decent Spring Break -- usually if I get to go anywhere it's because I'm being bounced between visiting my parents. I did visit my mom earlier last week, but on Thursday I headed out to New Orleans. Incidentally, when my parents found out I went without telling them and they were both pretty pissed, but things like that happen when you do something that asserts Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-908465202003-03-17T03:30:00.000-06:002003-03-17T03:30:40.733-06:00The UT graduate school accepted my sorry no-talent ass in the community and regional planning program! Yay me! I'll start there next fall. Looks like I won't be tossed flailing and screaming into the abysmal job market after all (or at least, I'll only have to stick it out for the summer).Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-900402342003-03-03T02:37:00.000-06:002003-03-05T02:33:06.000-06:00I'm now on the newspaper's intramural softball team. We were supposed to have a game today but it was cold and kinda drizzly, so the other team didn't show and we just had a few hours of practice instead. Lots of fun and probably the most exercise I've gotten since becoming a reporter.
Update: Three days after this little bit of practice, I'm still sore. Ugh. Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-900400522003-03-03T02:31:00.000-06:002003-03-03T02:31:07.000-06:00My day in a police cruiser
Last week was tough, and the weekend was no exception -- on Friday I found out that I would have to go out to cover a story about local law enforcement rounding up people with outstanding warrants at 9 a.m. on Saturday. I had already worked an extra three days in the past two weeks and I wasn't about to sacrifice my fucking Saturday to work, but it was a story for whichIrisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-896838602003-02-24T20:37:00.000-06:002003-02-24T20:37:15.746-06:00It may only be sleet instead of snow, but it put a nice white blanket on UT campus like I thought I'd never see, and that's awesome. Especially if classes get cancelled and I get to sleep in. :)Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-894130392003-02-19T22:55:00.000-06:002003-02-19T22:55:39.393-06:00My Big Break?
Yesterday I was a stringer (someone hired for a one-time job for one-time pay) for the Lubbock Avalanche Journal covering West Texas Day at the Capitol. My story was printed today...check it out! That's my first story printed in off-campus media.
It was a pretty easy story, I just talked to a few state representatives and mayors from a few West Texas cities...Jenn called it a "Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-892085582003-02-16T17:57:00.000-06:002003-02-16T17:57:25.370-06:00Remember that Clinton guy?
I've had such a busy week that I'm just now getting around to writing about something that happened Wednesday (Feb. 12)...Bill Clinton came to so speak at UT, and although I wasn't able to get a ticket, I ended up getting to go. I just happened to wander into the newsroom on my day off when the news editor asked if anyone could go help someone else cover the speech. So,Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-892060492003-02-16T16:57:00.000-06:002003-02-16T16:59:30.000-06:00A little academic argument...
Amazing, I actually found something interesting and relevant in my "theories of mass communication" reading...the word terrorism always has a negative connotation that reveals your bias against one side of a conflict. In fact, it falls under a very obvious type of propaganda (defined basically as a message that persuades people to do something that may not be in Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-892052072003-02-16T16:37:00.000-06:002003-02-16T16:39:13.000-06:00Useless Advice
Our government is recommending duct tape and plastic sheeting to protect ourselves from a possible chemical attack? Damn, is this a real defense or an economic stimulus package for tape and plastic manufacturers? Unless your house is so air-tight that you're about to run out of oxygen, those chemicals and biological agents are probably going to get you. This is the modern Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-889387292003-02-11T17:27:00.000-06:002003-02-11T17:32:22.000-06:00Campus is gettng a little crazy with the racial tension and anti-war rallies lately...maybe it's a little like the 1960s, I don't know. On the war issue, people's opinions seem pretty evenly split. Personally, I don't think we should make an unprovoked attack on Iraq or any other sovereign nation, no matter what kind of weapons (or how much oil) they have. It's definitely something worth Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-888927912003-02-10T22:22:00.000-06:002003-02-11T17:10:50.000-06:00Pretty good day
So, I didn't get tickets to the Bill Clinton speech. And I didn't get to go to the down-to-the-wire UT vs. OU basketball game because I was working. But I did have an easy time writing a good news story, and I now have Tuesdays off...that's 10 hours of my life each week that I now have back. However, I did get to see one of my friends from the Texan (who I would have been with, ohIrisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-888373542003-02-10T00:38:00.000-06:002003-02-10T00:38:05.203-06:00Just to give you an idea of how worthless my classes are this semester... I just looked at my next theories of mass communication project, and realized that I had done the exact same project in 7th grade. In fact, it was an even longer assignment back then. I still have it, and all I need to do is update the writing a little bit, then turn it in!
I'm not complaining by any means, I just thought Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-886900492003-02-06T23:24:00.000-06:002003-02-06T23:26:11.000-06:00"Game over, man, game over!"
So, did anyone see how we nearly went to war today? President Bush started making a speech on television, and even over all the noise in the newsroom as deadline was approaching, we could hear his words were much more stern than usual. Everyone gathered around the TV -- we really thought, this was it, he's about to declare war. But he didn't...I think of it as the "Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-886381402003-02-06T02:10:00.000-06:002003-02-06T02:10:38.923-06:00Affirmatively Opposed
This whole thing about the Supreme Court going after the University of Michigan's admissions policy has stirred up yet another tedious affirmative action debate...to which I'm about to add. Skip this post if this is an annoying and trite issue to you (hell, I almost skipped writing it, but it managed to get under my skin today).
See, I've never supported affirmative action Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-885699372003-02-04T21:52:00.000-06:002003-02-05T23:51:31.000-06:00Old People are Funny
I had to go cover this senior citizen's lobbying day on the front steps of the Texas Capitol today. While a legislator was addressing the crowd (between 4000 and 5000 people), ambulances began approaching. And for a moment, this huge crowd of seniors turns around to stare at the ambulances, and the speaker pauses...it was the lobbying equivalent of one bad ass motherfucker Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-885217892003-02-04T02:37:00.000-06:002003-02-04T02:39:09.000-06:00Birth Control: The Barrier Method
I was just talking about this recently with some friends, and we all agreed it's slightly ridiculous...the University Health Center makes it a lot more cumbersome for women to get birth control than men.
Guys can go buy a condom for like a quarter in the health center, but women have to make TWO appointments to get birth control pills. One appointment is Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-885202602003-02-04T01:37:00.000-06:002003-02-04T01:37:42.540-06:00"How are you doing?": The long answer
I forgot to mention that Saturday was also the deadline for submission of graduate school applications to the community and regional planning program. And I, being a person who works on deadlines, had my application ready to turn in just in the nick of time that day. Or so I thought. I arrived at the building to find it locked. Luckily someone was passing by Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-884101322003-02-01T23:51:00.000-06:002003-02-02T02:47:57.000-06:00Just when people haven't paid much attention to the space program for years, the shuttle Columbia comes apart right over Texas, killing seven astronauts. Now the news people are breaking out the small shuttle replicas they use to illustrate such disasters and reporting on it non-stop. When I read the story on CNN.com first thing this morning, I started thinking about what I always think of in airIrisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-883560592003-01-31T19:30:00.000-06:002003-01-31T19:30:37.530-06:00Okay...not only did my ex-boyfriend move into my apartment complex after we broke up, now he works at the newspaper with me. For someone with whom I now have a relationship based on avoidance, he sure is following me around! Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-882584492003-01-30T03:06:00.000-06:002003-01-30T03:07:35.000-06:00My next story for the advanced feature writing course has to be a "seasonal feature," and I've decided to do a little piece about how Easter actually came from a pagan spring celebration. But then this thought just hit me...maybe that's a bad topic to give a professor who is always talking about being devoutly Catholic? Heh.Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-880843202003-01-27T00:50:00.000-06:002003-01-30T02:59:59.000-06:00Once again, Houston sucks...
Last week was a hell of a tough one...I slept four hours a night at most, worked three days at the Texan for no money (no pay during tryouts), had to take the GRE without studying for it, and got yelled at by some crusty asshole for asking a simple question just because the question I asked was simple. Ugh. So, I was really glad to get the hell away from all that and Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-877692122003-01-20T23:46:00.000-06:002003-01-20T23:47:47.000-06:00Looking for ideas...help!
I'm taking this advanced feature writing class that requires me to come up with ideas for certain types of feature stories that we'll write and try to sell to a publication. As luck would have it, the types of feature stories the professor wants are completely boring to ye of few story ideas, such as myself. I need to come up with a topic for a how-to type feature...Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-877025072003-01-19T19:14:00.000-06:002003-01-19T19:14:59.556-06:00Looking out my window is like watching an urban episode of Wild Kingdom right now...there's a really ugly cat sitting on the ledge that runs along the sidewalk, and it's watching an uglier possum climb down a nearby tree branch. Yikes...and the possum just yaaaaawned and I could see some really sharp teeth. Nasty wee fuckers.Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-875810982003-01-17T02:35:00.000-06:002003-01-17T02:35:59.946-06:00If you see a bald woman on campus...
It may be me. I feel like tearing my hair out after the day I've had. The news story I was working on from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. got killed because someone from the state legislature wouldn't call me back, and the urban studies class I attended for the first time today is a little too demanding and I want to drop it. Now I'm scouring the course schedules for Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-875807732003-01-17T02:22:00.000-06:002003-01-17T02:22:50.446-06:00I think I've gotten pretty good at ignoring people who stage dumb demonstrations and hand out fliers on campus (an ability I like to call my West Mall radar), but today I saw something that got to me so much, I almost turned around to bitch at the people doing it. On the sidewalk across the street from the University Co-op, there was a guy holding a sign with a big picture of a plane crashing Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-873988562003-01-13T22:11:00.000-06:002003-01-13T23:48:00.000-06:00Back in Austin, to work, to class...what circle of hell is this?
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Carole Keeton Strayhorn (formerly Carole Keeton Rylander), announced today that the state is facing a $9.9 billion budget shortfall. And that's after she emphasized during the elections that any estimate over $5 billion was too much. I think she's sneaky like a furniture rental store...change Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-870886152003-01-07T19:53:00.000-06:002003-01-17T02:53:44.000-06:00New York and the New Year
I got back from New York three days ago, and haven’t felt like doing much of anything since. There’s a busy month of going back to class and applying for internships and graduate schools ahead of me and I just can’t get myself started. Part of it is because my internship prospects look just about hopeless…but also, my big vacation trip wasn’t as good as I expected it Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-870542452003-01-07T04:50:00.000-06:002003-01-07T04:50:23.136-06:00On the way back from a friend's house just now, we saw a guy in grey sweats and a Burger King crown jogging down a deserted San Antonio street. The really fucked up thing is the Burger King on the nearest corner closed down a long time ago.
Then I come in the house and my mom is still awake, watching some Australian guy with a mullet (he actually looks kinda like Ron Jeremy) preaching on the Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-865722332002-12-26T21:41:00.000-06:002002-12-26T21:41:02.263-06:00Oof. We just got back from the mall-circus, where it seemed half of San Antonio was shopping today...fair enough, there were some good sales. There were lots of people there, though...I think I got stuck trudging behind every slow woman from Bigassville. EVERYONE was at the damn mall. I even saw a few clumps of goth kids and a couple of crossdressers roaming around (one of them in Victoria's Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-865433082002-12-26T02:52:00.000-06:002002-12-26T02:54:34.000-06:00My new nickname
It's official, now that three people know me by this name...call me ROCKSTAR. That's the nickname I earned this semester by hurling on myself. It's not easy to make it to the top...Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-865080882002-12-25T01:28:00.000-06:002002-12-25T01:32:38.000-06:00Bleak Season
Jesus. Right now I'm looking for summer newspaper internships and trying to find out about applying to graduate school, and neither situation is looking very good.
I realized a couple of months ago that I totally blew the best internship opportunity, with Dow Jones & Co....in the essay I said I want to be a writer (they don't want writers, they want reporters -- typical newbie Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-864683672002-12-24T00:10:00.000-06:002002-12-24T00:10:40.716-06:00Oh, and the Cap of the Month for December is finally up.Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-864682542002-12-24T00:07:00.000-06:002002-12-24T00:07:37.620-06:00On the way home from the mall tonight, we almost got cut off by State Sen. Jeff Wentworth when we were getting off the highway. He ended up letting us in and later passed us, which was when I saw his "state official" license plate and his campaign sticker. It turns out he was going to the same post office as we were...probably to mail some late Christmas cards like me. Heh.Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-862861402002-12-19T15:00:00.000-06:002002-12-19T15:00:39.290-06:00You wouldn't know anything about it by watching the television news this morning, but apparently Arab and Islamic immigrants are being jailed on the West Coast all WWII-style. It seems that they were all coming forward to comply with a new law that says males over 16 from certain Arab/Islamic countries must register with the INS, and then many of them were handcuffed right there. Notice that thisIrisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-862574292002-12-18T23:55:00.000-06:002002-12-18T23:57:15.000-06:00Girl...you's just like herpes, 'cause you spreads easy.
Made that insult myself, and I'm just so proud, I had to share.
Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-862481012002-12-18T20:09:00.000-06:002002-12-18T20:10:22.000-06:00Tea and Strumpets:
Paraphrasing of an exchange between me and my best friend a few days ago:
Out of nowhere, he says: "What's strumpet?"
Me: "Um...it's an old English term for a slut, a prostitute. Where did that come from?"
Him: "No no no. People have tea and strumpets."
Me: "Haha....it's crumpets!"
Him: "No it's not. What's a crumpet? Tea and strumpets sounds right. It's strumpets."Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-862476742002-12-18T19:59:00.000-06:002002-12-18T19:59:09.016-06:00It's still the South, after all...
Oh man, kids...my mother can be so embarrassing. Sometimes I feel like I'm really the mom.
Let me tell you about a conversation I had with her yesterday. She starts talking about the whole Trent Lott fiasco (Personally, I'm not really that surprised by it...I don't believe he said that only to compliment Strom Thurmond because I could always sense some Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-862158122002-12-18T06:43:00.000-06:002002-12-18T06:43:34.270-06:00I write my best poetry just before dawn, when it's darkest and coldest. I didn't think about it until now, but I guess that pretty much sets the tone.Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-861886092002-12-17T17:10:00.000-06:002002-12-17T17:10:13.600-06:00Grades are coming in...and it looks like I got a B in my 8 a.m. class, Media Law and Ethics. I could just never make there that early when I had to work until 10 p.m. that night. Now I don't have a 4.0 in my journalism courses anymore. Bastards. :(Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-861590612002-12-17T04:01:00.000-06:002002-12-17T04:51:33.000-06:00It's December 17? Where the hell have I been!
Here's the short answer -- disturbing things that have kept me incommunicado:
Getting only five hours of sleep over three days
Possums climbing trees beside the dark path leading to my apartment
On the way out of town, seeing a hooker on my street at 4 a.m.
The sickening sprawl of SUVs and identical strip malls called suburban Houston
The closing of Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-856082672002-12-06T14:46:00.000-06:002002-12-17T04:18:40.000-06:00WOOHOO!
Today was the last day of regular classes for the semester, and I'm feeling great. In magazine production we came to class to eat pizza and tell our professor how he could improve the class next time around. Believe me, there's lots of room for improvement...it's very disorganized. He admitted it's like three classes in one. At least after I finish our project on Monday I'll have a solid Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-855811022002-12-06T01:08:00.000-06:002002-12-06T01:08:52.083-06:00That's it...my brain has hit critical mass. No more new inputs until Monday. I've screwed one of the two projects and two of the three test I had this week, and I've got a case of the lonelies. Bleh. Thanks a lot, college. *crawling to the finish line*Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-855296112002-12-05T03:24:00.000-06:002002-12-05T03:37:36.000-06:00Hey, can someone get me to San Francisco by Sunday to see some really strange Mexican wrestling? I mean, how could I miss a chance to meet this long list of assclowns?
Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3362537.post-853635382002-12-01T23:42:00.000-06:002002-12-01T23:43:31.000-06:00In case you were wondering how I got such a base sense of humor, here's a hint: I'm the kind of person who wants this for Christmas.Irisheyesnoreply@blogger.com