Alien-Human Hybrid

There's nothing sadder than reaching the end of a cup of perfectly brewed Dunkin Donuts coffee. Except, of course, reaching the end of a cup of perfectly brewed Dunkin Donuts coffee as you're sitting down to write a response paper.

(Me and Mr. Hyperbole? We're very tight.)

Labels: Coffee, Mr. Hyperbole

Posted by Sara at 8:12 PM | Permalink | Comments

The new semester begins today. Let's review my goals for the winter break:

• Blog every day, even if I don't have anything to say. (Well! We know that didn't happen.)
• Read a lot, including a big, fat classic novel and something by Stephen King. (I read four books, including King's Pet Sematary, but I didn't read a big, fat classic novel. I'm taking 19th Century American Literature this semester so that should more than compensate.)
• Successfully cook a dinner that is not microwavable or stored in a can. (Actually, no, I didn't. I did, however, start using the oven to cook the microwavable meals I eat because - somehow - that makes me feel better. And more accomplished. "A" for effort!)
• ...And if that goes well, bake something from scratch. (Ha!)
• Discover some crevice of X-Files fandom I have not yet explored. (Yes, I managed to complete this oh-so haughty task.)

Posted by Sara at 9:47 AM | Permalink | Comments

Taking (and enjoying) the "Blogging On" class this past semester has placed me in a difficult predicament. I used to blog more often and more about daily life -- especially in my other, more private blog -- but knowing that I have accumulated a small (alright, minuscule) readership from taking the class has somehow paralyzed me. I'm plagued with the gnawing question: Do I have anything interesting to say? I always turn up with a big, fat "no" and thus, I don't blog. I mean, who wants to hear about my long walks on campus, what I had for dinner or how I found the perfect pair of jeans this weekend? No one. These things, however, are what I enjoy writing about in my blogs.

The problem is that I now don't blog in my older, more personal blog either because I feel a sense of loyalty (perhaps responsibility?) to "Alien Human Hybrid." I've watched it grow and I enjoy receiving feedback, which didn't happen as often with my other blog because I had a two-person readership. Literally.

I'm thinking too much.

Labels: Blogging

Posted by Sara at 4:37 PM | Permalink | Comments

Beware of elderly people driving big cars. They may pull out directly in front of you as if you weren't there at all; and consequently, make you slam on your brakes which will cause you to swerve off the road. Then, you'll spend the remainder of your car ride waving your fist and mumbling obscenities like a mad person.

Posted by Sara at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments

In the past month, we have found five Western Conifer Seed Bugs in our home. I wouldn't have known what it was were it not for http://www.whatsthatbug.com/, a simultaneously compelling and revolting website. The Western Conifer Seed Bug was the site's December Bug of the Month. What an honor!

That said, I am not an insect person. Not many people are, I know, but I'm really not an insect person. Since I was a child, insects (of all kinds) have been a recurring theme in my nightmares. Mr. Conifer Seed Bug over there on your left visited my sleep last night. I had a dream that he and his friends were slowly taking over the house while I frantically (and unsuccessfully) tried to kill them all. I woke up sweating and anxious and convinced my home was doomed. My only comfort? A bedside lamp and Nick at Nite.

(After writing this, I realize this probably isn't something I should blog about. I mean, who wants to read about bug invasions?)

Posted by Sara at 6:13 PM | Permalink | Comments

When I was a junior in college, I studied abroad at the University of York in England. I spent the better part of my senior year trying to get over England, trying to forget how much I loved it, trying to ease the longing to return and stop my heart from breaking every time someone asked me about my experience abroad. I eventually learned to stop yearning for England and to move on with day-to-day life here in the States, where I was born and where I will likely remain for a very long time. I've pined for England less and less as time has passed. I've let it go.

But then, on New Year's Day of this year, it occurred to me that it has been four years since I've been in York. Four years. And ever since I realized that, I've been pining all over again, just as intensely (perhaps ridiculously) as I did during my senior year of college. I can't stop thinking of England, of the way York smells, of the damp city streets, of the small movie theater where I spent the better part of each week, of the long and restless walks down cobble stoned roads, of the nights spent lying awake and staring at the York Minster, amazed that something so large could be so graceful. I've been thinking of all of it: smoking cigarettes on my windowsill, reflective train rides to London and Leeds, excursions to Spain, France, Scotland and Holland, dirty hostels, eating too many pastries, drinking too much vodka, reading away the afternoons, long phone calls home to my mother and my friends. All of it seems so brilliant, even the filthy showers and hot, crowded computer labs. So, once again, I'm aching to get back there.

Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever stop missing York.

Labels: England

Posted by Sara at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

An interesting article on blogging from Writer's Digest's e-Newsletter: http://www.writersdigest.com/articles/weinman_blogged_and_burned.asp

Labels: Blogging

Posted by Sara at 5:51 PM | Permalink | Comments

Unfortunately, I did not know Hugh Ogden nor was he my professor, but it seems inappropriate to be a Trinity College student and not mention his death. His poetry is beautiful and by reading it, I can easily see that this is a great loss.

Posted by Sara at 1:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

I've had a week off from work, which translates to a week of staying up until three or four in the morning and sleeping late. I'm going to attempt to get some shuteye at a reasonable hour, but first, I thought I'd depress everybody. Yeah! A year in review.

Labels: Politics

Posted by Sara at 12:15 AM | Permalink | Comments