E-mail, from Drucifer
“When do you come back, bitch???
Me, back to Drucifer
“Around June 24th. Also, I graduate in 10 days”
Drucifer: excellent, sounds super stellar swell terrific times!!
Me:  I’m glad you are enthusiastic about my homecoming. i feel special
Drucifer: I made out with a girl last night

And that is, strictly ironically, the way we roll.

So I have to go to my discussion section in a few minutes – I skipped my other two classes to work on the thesis, but I can’t skip this. I am not panicked about the state of my thesis, which actually worries me more, because anytime I think a paper is decent it winds up being not quite right. I wasted a little bit of time playing the confession game on the libertarian message board, confessing “I think one of the reasons I wound up in grad school is because I was trying to impress a boy.

…and this is one of the responses I got, which made me smile

“I wish my attempts to impress girls got me doctorate degrees, instead of….. well making me look like a fool, and broke. Hell you are doing pretty good. You impressed me.

You should try to impress the boy again and see where that gets you. You might end up being president.”

Which is not to say that my attempts to impress boys have not made me look like a fool. However, I will have earned my Masters Degree in less than nine months, and that is far more productive than getting knocked up. Said boy is long since out of the picture, but I’m thinking I’ll find myself another aloof, emotionally unavailable boy to impress so I have some motivation to get through a PhD program!

1) Christopher Meloni-as-Elliot-Stabler. I never watched X-Files but now I understand the Mulder/Scully shipper-ness. Because I am SO an Elliot and Olivia ‘shipper. I am probably way too old for that, but I’m also trapped at UChicago and everyone at the nerdery needs a guilty pleasure.

2) JBJ. Because I can’t be a proper Jersey girl without acknowledging JBJ. In my bedroom at my parents house, there is still a giant JBJ poster, in which he looks particularly hot. I also like that poster because of the inclusion of roses, which I take as a reference to the song “Bed of Roses” a song that I adore, and a song which the Ex, who also liked JBJ, did not like, so I had to be all alone in my adoration of this song. Actually, there’s a line in there that I’ve always used in reference to decathlon. (…but I laughed so hard I think I cried) It was in regards to April 20, 2001. I am still in contact with 50% of the people who were in that room, and wow, that was non-sequitor. Also, I am on the record for admitting I’d marry Billy Joel, and being totally outraged that he’d marry someone a mere 18 months older than me, like WTF Billy Joel, I’m pretty and Jewish and a Jersey accent is similar to Long Island.
3) Jon Stewart: the thinking woman’s sex symbol. (Also, potentially a libertarian, AND he sung Allentown on his show once.)

4) I’m not telling you, its way too mockable. And $20 bucks says Brent knows what I’m referring to, because WTF life, why’d you invent someone who knows me so well?

5) Pacey Witter, circa season 3 of Dawson’s Creek. You know Pacey and Joey broke up at about the same time as my ex-ex-ex broke up with me? And so the Prom episode almost made me cry, because um, scarry-relevant-lines?  Oy vey, SO MUCH DRAMA, that was oh-so-much a mess and clearly my identifcation with Joey Potter is very wrong. But also, we watched that episode together. Clearly, I have complex relationships with my exes.

6) Christopher Meloni-as-Elliot-Stabler. (says valuable sources “you just like angsty men.”) I blame Xina for this. She got me into SVU our last semester at college.Sunday marathons, and Tuesday girly-TV-night (Gilmore, One Tree Hill, SVU, Jon Stewart)

7) Almanzo Wilder — my first literary crush. Cleary, its the driving thing.

Hank Rearden. I still maintain that Dagny and him are an awesome literary couple. I love the scene when he’s like “its so obvious that you’ve been waiting for me.” And also the one where they go to dinner in Jersey.

9) Franscico (from Atlas Shrugged). Hello black t-shirts.

10) Christopher Meloni-as-Elliot-Stabler. Clearly, I have an obsession.

Bart: Look at me, I’m a grad student. I’m 30 years old and I made $600 last year.
Marg: Bart, don’t make fun of grad students. They just made a terrible life choice.

Hat-tip to fellow grad student jazzkittykat for the youtube video.

So I’m watching “My Boys,” which is surprisingly good for a half-hour TBS original series: premise female sportswriter has all male friends. It’s actually quite cute and has good dialogue. As a girl who grew up being one of the guys, and yet reveling in some of my girliness, I find much of it very realistic. Except she’s totally into sports and I’ve never been a tomboy.

Anyway, I thought this line was perfect:

“So you gave your number to a guy you were not remotely interested in, and then YOU called HIM and asked him out?”

I think Brenty has probably said extremely similar things to me.

On second thought, lets go to the AIM log.

Just Rachel 129: i’m going out with [nice] Libertarian boy again tomorrow night
NascentIgnorance: i was going to ask about that
NascentIgnorance: but figured no news is good news
Just Rachel 129: no, no news is technically bad news, in the sense that i’m pretty sure he’s too nice for me
NascentIgnorance: oh right
NascentIgnorance: he doesn’t treat you badly or make believe that he doesn’t like you
Just Rachel 129: well hey, at least i’m going out with him again
Just Rachel 129: and giving him a chance to prove that he can be emotionally manipulative and infuriating
Just Rachel 129: plus his voice kind of annoys me, it’s too enthusiastic
NascentIgnorance: oh you need something droll and fatigued
NascentIgnorance: you should ask this guy if [way too inappropriatete]
NascentIgnorance: maybe then that’ll get something going
Just Rachel 129: it’s too late; he already calls me before midnight and wants to hold my hand in public
NascentIgnorance: well what do you expect?
NascentIgnorance: you went out with him because he reads the economist and probably voted for badnarik

Jill-IAN: Neumsy, it’s our one year anniversary! I had my PLI job interview exactly a year ago.
Me: Oh yeah. And I didn’t like you because you were the idiot who forgot your ID
Jill-IAN: And I think I asked you what time it was.
Me: And I was probably bitchy.
Jill-IAN: I think I remember wondering what your problem was.
Me: And then you sat in the breakroom waiting for Dite, and I was like “Why is she still here?” And I was thinking there was no way you would get the job. Because you know, you were the idiot that forgot your ID.
Jill-IAN: And then I became like, the best thing to ever happen to you.
Me: Yes. Yes you did.
Jill-IAN: We should get MySpace pages so we can post “Happy Anniversary messages to each other on them.
Me: …..
Me: No
Me: MySpace ruins lives

“I heart you for 2-1-5, 3JP, Malibu Bay Breezes, Dawson’s Creek and Degrassi, careening through Brooklyn in the car making up new words to “How’s It Gonna Be” and laughing our asses off, and for nicknames, and Gin Blossoms, and Angela Chase, and ballet, and deep lunchtime conversations, and for misanthropic heroism, mallets, planes, suggestion boxes, and Coney Island and for analysis, and our band names, wanting to punch people, raccoons, and revalations, and being awesome, and for sharing a brain, and for torrid love affairs, alligator farms, and subway boyfriends, and for making fun of everything, Cinco de Mayo, and idiot-lion-cub-boy, and for not getting over ourselves and being the two coolest people on the planet.”

Jill-IAN: After you leave, I’m just going to call the new girl ‘Rachel’ and I’m going to sit with her at lunch and tell her stories about you.
Me: So you’ll frighten her and she’ll think you’re psychotic.
Jill-IAN: And then she’ll quit and you’ll have to come back from Chicago.
Me: You don’t even call me Rachel. Why would you call her Rachel?
Jill-IAN: Well I’m not going to call her Neumsy! You’re Neumsy.

We need help, clearly. A quick googling of said song reveals that it is a Michael Bolton song, but I believe it has been covered by several other artists.

CK explained to me today that he thinks that no woman in the world would have a reason not to be attracted to him. He clarified that this does not mean he thinks every woman he encounters is attracted to him; just that they have no reason NOT to be. This segued into a rant that he thinks he is oftentimes screwed over by the universe, because he is obviously great, and God doesn’t mean the competition. There was also some stuff about winning the war not being important, and it being all about the battle

Clearly, CK is on drugs this afternoon, but it’s an interesting theory. So all the sucky rejection and stuff that happened in February actually happened because I am all brilliant, totally hot, and awesome and the universe is afraid that it might have to deal with some competition from me, so it has to keep me humble. Well watch out universe! This is not over!

“If this is inner peace then the Buddhists are wasting their fucking time”
-Kevin, quote of the week and perhaps the month.

Since the entry this morning was possibly unreasonably hostile, I am writing again, to counteract its tone. Livejournal has truly become the volumes.

Last night was good, then came home, fell asleep watching Shawshank Redemption. I also went for a walk today at lunch, because it is sunny and nice out, even though there is still a disgusting amount of slush.

Also, I love my Prince Charming frog. He is proudly perched upon my dresser the display-shelf-thing that came with the room. I purchased him for half price + employee discount at b&n a few weeks after Valentine’s Day last year, but just because he was cheap does not mean he is not PRICELESS. Obviously.

Hydration is the best thing ever. I’ve not felt like death at work in weeks.

I need to do laundry tonight. It will be an adventure, as my landlord has informed me it is impossible to do laundry, even though there are several Laundromats. My landlord and her husband also have “spirited” conversations in Greek. But she bakes us cookies, so the noise is forgivable. The hissing radiator is still scary.

I’m hyper and I haven’t even had coffee.

* Except in 8^th grade when I was in my phrase of going out of my way to appear “cynical.” I think this just consisted of wearing a lot of black and making a show of broodingly writing in my notebook? Brent, can you confirm? And I remember stamping my foot and saying “Valentine’s Day is a useless attempt by insecure males to woo their mates with candy and flowers.” In retrospect, Valentine’s Day is usually more about insecure females than males, but I was thirteen, so I demand you forgive my shortsightedness.

CK just sauntered into work — on time for once — and raised his fist in a show of Jersey solidarity. We wished each other a Happy Transit Strike; “man, I know this must suck for most New Yorkers, but if you’re from Jersey, it feels like a Holiday!”

I was coming in from Bloomfield this morning, and my train to Penn Station was late. Penn Station was a mess, and there were swarms of people on the street. And then I hit Times Square and it was like ‘Where did all the people go?’ I think a lot of people stayed home, maybe, or are just late, because the streets seemed pretty quiet north of Times Square. It could stand to be a few degrees warmer and I wish I didn’t have a cold, but it is indeed a very Happy Transit Strike.

CK and I are both ridiculously smug about our unaffected commutes, because there is much bitching and moaning at the office. Even if NJ Transit were to strike, there’s private competition in Jersey and still would be ways of getting to work. Jersey is the best. NYC liberalism + common sense conservatism. I am so, so sad that I am going to be moving