acid-stars.com

I thought I could toilet train my cat. Really, I thought I could it. I saw a kitty potty training video and thought, Hey! That looks simple. I’m sure I can get Dixie to use the toilet. Well, I was wrong. My cat was miserable. He hated the sitz bath I’d affixed to my toilet as there wasn’t enough room for him to fit his big butt. So he’d wake me up in the mornings — after a long night of holding in his poo — to remind me that he couldn’t use his new toilet properly. So I’d be up at ungodly hours in the morning, sitting on the edge of my bathtub, coaxing my cat to urinate in the sitz bath: “Please, Dix. Pee for mommy. C’mon… pss-pss-pss-psssss.” After throwing out half the litter onto the floor, he’d finally relieve himself and dash happily through the apartment.

Today, I finally broke down and just bought him a hooded litter box. I bought the “jumbo” size to ensure that all 12.4lbs of him would fit in there. Because of its large size, though, I can no longer keep his litterbox in the bathroom as I previously did. Now I’m struggling to find the optimal spot for it. However, Dixon seems thrilled to have a normal-sized litterbox again and to be able to dig his way to China… without getting litter absolutely everywhere.

Besides turning my cat’s world upside down, I’ve also been making some changes in my own life. For example, I’ve gone vegetarian. It’s a month-long experiment to see how a meat-free diet makes me feel. So far, so good. I’m feeling much healthier, more energetic, and just generally happier. And it’s only been 5 days! Maybe it’s a placebo effect, maybe it’s not. Either way, I’m enjoying learning new ways to incorporate fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, etc., into my everyday life.

With my new vegetarian diet, I’m noticing that I’m throwing out a lot of items (e.g., egg shells, peels, coffee grounds, etc.) that decompose naturally. I’m not comfortable sending these things to the landfill. So I’m looking into starting my very own compost bin. I learned that the city has a compost project and that I can get a bin for about $20. I emailed my local project site and asked when they’ll have some of these bins in stock. I’m looking forward to beginning this project! I can start with lawn clippings and tree leaves and go on to add all of the produce items mentioned previously. In a couple of months, I’ll have nutritious fertilizer for the flowers and vegetables that my mom has growing in the yard. That’s exciting to me.

Additionally, I’m trying to cut back on the amount of plastic that I use. I’ve invested in a stainless steel water bottle so I am no longer dependent on plastic bottles. I’ve also purchased a faucet water filter so I can have clean water straight from the tap. I also bought reusable shopping bags so I can finally stop using plastic shopping bags when I go shopping. (I was recently cleaning up in my kitchen and decided to tackle the cabinet that I used to store the copious amounts of shopping bags that I’ve amassed over the years. I was appalled.) I’ve been trying to reuse the bags I have when I go shopping but I always forget to take them with me. The last time I went grocery shopping, though, I noticed that there is a bin in the vestibule with a sign that reads: “Recycle Plastic Shopping Bags Here.” So I’m going to round up many of my bags and deposit them there. (I’m going to retain some to use as liners for the small trashcans that are kept throughout my house.) Once I get rid of all of the plastic bags, I’m going to throw some of the reusable bags in my purses and store some in Alex’s car, so we’ll always have some when we go shopping. Like the nerd that I am, I’m looking forward to this also.

On June 10th, Alex and I went to McCarren Park Pool to see Death Cab for Cutie perform. It was over 95°F and I had laryngitis… but there was no way I was going to miss Death Cab.

We got to the venue at 6 PM, one hour before the show was to start. We met up with Alex’s cousin, Gabrielle, and her friend, Britney. They found a spot right at the base of the stage. Alex and I didn’t think we wanted to be so close so we wandered away from them and went to get beer. We ended up putting down $18 for 3 cups of (supposedly) Brooklyn-brewed beer. Ridiculous. At least they allowed water bottles in, provided they were still sealed. (My guess is that they didn’t want anyone sneaking booze into the place.)

Finally, the opening act (Rogue Wave) took the stage. They seemed to have decent music but I couldn’t understand the lyrics! The singer kept his lips way too close to the microphone. They were also kinda mellow, making it difficult for the audience to really get into the music. The drummer was wearing really short track shorts, which were the highlight of their act. (”Who wears short shorts!” screamed Britney.)

Finally, Death Cab for Cutie came on. The crowd went insane; much clapping, screaming, and yelling ensued. Everyone took out their cameras and started snapping photos. When the music started, though, everyone kinda mellowed out. They opened with a song off their newest album, Narrow Stairs, entitled “Bixby Canyon Bridge.” Mid-song, the backdrop came unfurled to reveal the cover art for Narrow Stairs, causing the fans to roar wildly with excitement. It was followed by “The New Year” (off Transatlanticism), which is probably one of my favorites. You can bet I was lip synching right along with Ben Gibbard. (Who, by the way, was directly in front of us and no more than 10 feet away, on a stage that was approximately 6 ft. off the ground.)

During “Grapevine Fires” (again off Narrow Stairs), Ben’s guitar stopped working. He took it off and waited for his new guitar. Meanwhile, the song went on with just one guitar (manned by Chris Walla) while Ben provided the vocals. Towards the end, a new guitar was finally brought out and Ben finished off the song.

By this time, Ben was also sweating profusely. It was just rolling off of him as if he’d just stepped out of the shower or walked in the rain. (Hmm… Foreshadowing?) Have I mentioned that it was almost 100°F that night? New York was in the middle of a heatwave when Death Cab came to town.

After a heart-wrenching rendition of “I Will Follow You into the Dark” (off Plans), wherein Ben sat alone in the foreground with an acoustic guitar in his arms and a microphone in front of him, the band played “I Will Possess Your Heart” (off Narrow Stairs). With the amount of sweat rolling off of him, I am surprised Ben was able to stand, let alone perform another solo (this time on the keyboard). Then, during “Cath…” (again off Narrow Stairs), Ben’s guitar broke. Fed up, he hurled it across the stage and grabbed the mic, bellowing the lyrics into the transducer. He unwound the cord from the mic stand and attempted to walk across the stage. However, the microphone cord was too short and he ended up accidentally unplugging it. As stage technicians scurried onto the platform, Ben simply started singing the song without any instruments or amplification devices. It was actually kinda beautiful.

It was at this point that Ben approached the edge of stage and reached out to the audience. The fans just swarmed to him. I was jostled in the process, as a 16-year-old fanboy standing next to me (who, in a hipster attempt at dance, tossed his hair the whole night) ran towards Ben. Eventually, Ben walked to the other end of the stage and some of the people moved with him, giving me room to breathe.

The next song Death Cab played was “We Laugh Indoors” (off Photo Album), with which aforementioned fanboy (whom I have dubbed “Hair and Elbows” for his hair tossing and arm waving) heartily sang along. As soon as the band stopped playing, he yelled out, “Thank you for playing that song!” Then, he turned to his friend and quietly said, “That’s the one song I wanted to hear them play tonight.” Then, turning towards the stage again, he yelled out “Thank you!” one more time. Aw, what a polite kid. I just wish he tucked his elbows in more.

The final song of the night ended up being “Sound of Settling” (off Transatlanticism). Normally, this is a song just like many of DCFC’s other songs: mellow and zen-like. However, this is when a heavy wind picked up. The backdrop suddenly picked up air and began waving in the background, like a glorious flag. Ben moved to the center of the stage and approached the edge. With his hair flowing in the wind, he put one foot on a speaker (or woofer or something), raised his microphone, and sang his heart out. (It looked like a scene from a movie. At one point, I seriously thought, Who turned on the wind machine?) The audience was cheering wildly, suddenly energized by the electricity in the air. Meanwhile, the stagehands started making hand gestures for the band to get off the stage… now. (The light fixtures hanging above the stage were swaying dangerously in the air.) The band, however, was not budging. Ben finished the song, threw both arms victoriously in the air, thanked the audience for coming out, and ran off the stage with his band-mates.

Suddenly, dust was flying everywhere. The waterless pool was transformed into a vacuum, moving dust and debris in circles. People were shielding their eyes and mouths with their arms moist and sticky with sweat. It seemed like there was a tornado on the way. Then came the lightning, followed shortly by the thunder. Thousands of people made their way (surprisingly peacefully) towards the exits.

As Alex and I approached his car, it began to rain. As we pulled out of our parking spot, it poured. It was difficult to see out the windshield, even with the wipers turned on to full speed. We were barely able to make out the people running across streets and bicyclists riding dangerously in the street. We finally found the highway (which was not an easy feat due to the rain and the fact that we are not from the area) and made our way home safely to Staten Island.

The storm ended almost as quickly as it had begun. It seemed that the skies opened up to offer momentary relief for the suffocating heat experienced by millions of New Yorkers over the last few days.

Really, the night could not have been more perfect.

The following is a complete setlist from that night:

1. Bixby Canyon Bridge
2. The New Year
3. Why You’d Want to Live Here
4. Photobooth
5. Crooked Teeth
6. Long Division
7. Grapevine Fires
8. A Movie Script Ending
9. Company Calls
10. Company Calls Epilogue
11. Soul Meets Body
12. I Will Follow You into the Dark
13. I Will Possess Your Heart
14. Cath…
15. We Laugh Indoors
16. Sound of Settling

If my family hadn’t moved to Staten Island when I was 15 years old, I may have never gotten my driver’s license. Back when we lived in Brooklyn, I had no reason to learn to drive. Everything was either within walking distance or near public transportation. It was quite a shock, then, to move to a remote neighborhood on the lower end of Staten Island. The closest store is about 1.5 miles away from my house. There are a couple of buses nearby and a train station 1.5 miles away… but they’re all really poor forms of transportation. It takes way too long to get around. Therefore, getting my license was imperative. In fact, I spent my 16th birthday at the DMV so I could get my learner’s permit.

Getting my permit was the first step. The second step in my plan was to learn to drive. I bugged my dad for months to go driving with me. You know what, though? All that bugging paid off because, by the time my 17th birthday rolled around, I had my license. (That was also partly due to my taking a Driver’s Ed course that allowed me to get my license a year earlier than normally allowed in New York.)

The third step? Getting a car. I bugged my parents for that, too. But that paid off, too! During my senior year of high school, I drove a 2000 Mercury Cougar. I loved that car. It was small, it was sporty… it was mine! I drove it to my 3 (!) classes that year, I drove it to work, I drove it back to school for Yearbook, I drove it everywhere. I only had it for two years, though, before my parents sold it. It made sense — my parents had two cars and only ever had one out at a time. So the idea was that my sister and I would share the other car. However, it turned out that my sister got a little greedy with it and I can never use the car without asking her in advance if I can use it. However, this wasn’t a big deal since Alex got a car and I began commuting to school with my parents. It was just a nuisance that I had to deal with every once in a while.

Next year, though, I’m going to need my own car. I’ll continue living on Staten Island, NY, but I’ll be going to Rutgers in New Brunswick, NJ, while working at the Brooklyn College Library in Brooklyn, NY. (Speaking of which: I may be hired as an Adjunct Reference Librarian in the fall. I’ll know more about this later in the summer.) So that’ll be a lot of driving.

Needless to say, I’m looking to get a fuel-efficient vehicle for my driving needs. This is why I’m considering getting a Toyota Prius. The numbers just add up: it gets an average of 45 MPG for about $200/mo for a 36-month lease. Getting a Honda Civic Hybrid — which also gets about 45 MPG — will cost anywhere from $80 to $130 more per month for the same 36-month lease. (For some reason, Hondas are very expensive to lease.) So my current plan of action is to save up as much money as I can from my current gig at the Brooklyn College Library so I can put down a decent down payment on a Prius so I can pay less per month. I don’t have too many other expenses (I don’t pay rent, I don’t pay for groceries, I don’t pay for my cellphone service…) so it shouldn’t be too hard.

I will have to figure out how to pay for graduate school, though. By the time I get my MLIS, I will have spent over $30,000 on school-related expenses. I’m going to have to take out a loan, obviously. However, I know nothing about these things. Anyone have any suggestions?

Getting a Wii was a bad, bad idea. Especially for someone like me, who is so easily amused. All of the games for this system are so cutesy and colorful… It’s sensory overload. I love it. I find myself constantly drawn to it, whether playing some Wii Sports or watching Alex play Super Mario Galaxy. (I’m not much of a game player… so I tend to watch more than I play.) This is bad because I only have one month left of classes and I’m finding it difficult to concentrate on schoolwork. (This was happening before I got the Wii… but it’s only been exacerbated in the past couple of weeks.) This is made worse by the fact that I’m taking 6 classes, all of which I need to pass so that I can graduate on May 29.

I’ve actually been experiencing something akin to panic attacks when I think of two of my classes this semester: CIS 46 (UNIX Programming) and CIS 60.1 (Independent Study). I’ve fallen far behind in 46 and I don’t think I can climb my way back to the top. I’m going to have to email the professor and ask that she have pity on my soul. We’ve had one test so far and I did OK on it. Our next test is on Tuesday and, if I delegate some time today and tomorrow to study for it, I think I can do as well on this exam. My only problem is the homeworks. I’ve done 1 out of 6. That’s disgusting and I’m ashamed of myself. I can only hope the professor doesn’t fail me or give me an incomplete.

For CIS 60.1, I have to create an original piece of software. My plan is to create a Facebook Application that is also relevant to the work I do as an intern in the library. However, I’m running out of time and I have no code written. I hope that I can write at least some basic, bare-bones version of my application. I’ll email the professor and ask him if unfinished code warrants a grade of F or if it’s understandable that a project (on which only one person is working) may not get completed in a set amount of time.

My tummy hurts thinking about all of this.

On a lighter note, the School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies has “recommended [me] for admission”! So, assuming that all of my paperwork is in order and all of that, I’m pretty sure that I’ve been awarded admission to the #6 rated graduate school for Library & Information Studies!

I have been compulsively checking the Rutgers University graduate application status page. I log in several times a day to see if they have made up their mind about my application. Everyday, I see the same message: “No Decision.” It’s been over 10 weeks since I’ve submitted my information to them but I have yet to hear back from them. The other two schools to which I applied have already responded (and I submitted my applications to those schools later than I did to Rutgers). Both St. John’s University and Queens College have accepted me into their Library Science programs. But, of course, the school to which I really want to be admitted is taking forever to notify me of its decision. This isn’t fair!

In other news, I’m a dumbass. I came in to work today with the sole purpose of working on a project for one of my CIS classes. (I’m writing a Facebook application. More details will come out once the project is nearing completion.) In fact, I brought in a couple of books related to the subject in addition to my laptop. However, I forgot one crucial piece of equipment: the AC power adapter for the laptop. I was in such a rush this morning to get out of the house that I completely forgot to grab the power cord. Well, at least I didn’t forget the laptop. That would’ve been much more embarrassing.

Since I can’t write in PHP on the computer that I am currently using at work, I think I’ll be heading home soon. (I’d rather work on my own machine. That and I don’t think I even have the administrative rights to install PHP on this computer.)

Have I mentioned how much I like working at the Brooklyn College Library? I can’t imagine working anywhere else while I’m working on my MLIS… and as soon as I complete my library school education. I enjoy coming to work! This is the first time in quite some time that I feel like I actually belong — in this workplace and in this field. As a programmer, I always felt like an impostor. As a librarian-to-be, I feel like I found my niche.