on the run

Hurricane Katrina is such a bitch. I tried to email most of ya'll to let ya'll know I'm ok but I know I forgot some people. I'm ok though. My family and I are in Texas staying with my aunt. The news is so depressing. New Orleans is completely under water. My city isn't, but the levee has broke so it may be in a matter of time. At any rate, we can't go back for a long long time. They aren't letting people back in for another couple of days and then when they do, people can only get their things and leave again. So I'm going back to school early seeing as how I don't have enough medicine for all this nonsense. I'm going to try to get my clothes and things, but who knows if I'll be able to. What matters is that my family and friends are ok. But it's just really devastating to think that so many people died and are now homeless and jobless. This hasn't been the best year. I hope ya'll are doing well!

DAY 1

Aug. 30, 2005

Okay, so……

I am on the boat! I can’t believe it! You all will be happy to hear that all of the nervousness and anxiety I was previously feeling is pretty much, if not all, gone! I am so excited I cannot even express how excited I am. Of course I’m keeping it mostly concealed under a cool exterior (easier to make friends that way, haha).

I got into Nassau, the Bahamas last night. The flight wasn’t that bad from Miami (just delayed an hour), which was good because it was a small plane, and some of you know about my fear of small planes and airports. The travel agency I used put me up in a resort called The Atlantis Paradise, and it was pretty much that. It was absolutely amazing! I would have been happy at a Holiday Inn, so The Atlantis was a pleasant surprise. Don’t get me wrong, they made sure we paid for it. Blah! The resort was so gynormous I didn’t even have time to see it all.

The next morning I took a taxi with a few other girls to the ship. Oh and side note: Why is the girl-to-guy ratio so skewed?! Seriously there are only like 261 guys here...out of 683. Weird. Oh well. Anyways, I boarded the ship after standing in the humidity from hell for about half an hour. It didn’t take long, but it sure felt like it. Following getting on the ship and getting settled in was A LOT of introductions. So many people to meet all at once. I’m really trying to remember names, but it’s growing harder and harder with every Hi, My name is ­_________. I hear. But it’s good. Meeting people is a good thing. :o)

I went to lunch, met more people, and realized that if Stanford spoils me Semester at Sea just does me in! The crew really does give you a cruise-like treatment. Waiting on you, cleaning your room everyday, etc. I’m trying to stay humble. I promise. ;o)

Tonight we have our first mandatory meeting. Orientation is tomorrow, and classes start on Thursday. I can already tell I’m not going to regret this semester away from Stanford one bit. If anything I wish you all could be here with me. Then everything would be perfect, but as it is I really can’t complain.

I love and miss you all!

Lauren

houston sweat

hi everyone, i got back into houston on thursday. went to austin on saturday. i had a lot of fun, and then my mom demands that i drive back before dark (typical). so there it is, it took just 3 days for my mom to get mad at me.

it's so hot and humid, i don't ever want to leave the house. i do need to go shopping, but i don't even want to walk to the garage.

it rained today, yamanda was right, it is nice to feel rain again.

i just wanted to say, happy birthday julia, i hope you had a fabulous day... well i hope all of your days are fabulous, but this one, extra-so.
and, good sailing lauren, i hope your trip goes smoothly, don't fall off the boat or anything. be good. behave.

my mom told me today, that she did have the intention of "annie may" to be southern, it wasn't just coincidental. so there, make fun of me freely. >P

About to Set Sail!

Okay, so the anxiety isn't completely gone, but becoming more and more supressed. I leave in 3 days for Nassau, narrowly exscaping Katrina. I'll meet up with some of my shipmates at a hotel on Monday night, so that should be fun. Then we head out the next morning to board the ship at 8am. I am excited. I am nervous. I really don't think I'm fully prepared for what I'm about to go through. I can't believe the places I'm going to visit, the cultures and lifestyles I'm going to witness. I mean Archbishop Desmond Tutu is going to be traveling with us from Brazil to South Africa! How crazy is that! I know this is going to be an incredible semester. I'll send postcards (to those who have given me their addresses). I'll take tons of pictures. I'll take advantage of the legal drinking age of 18 while at sea and in port. Although, I won't take too much advantage. I want to come home with clear memories of this experience. I'll blog after every port I visit. I'll think of you all often, imagining the amazing quarter each one of you are having (and will be blogging about)!

Take care! Have fun! I love and miss you all!

she's hearing voices

currently playing: she's hearing voices -bloc party

i am almost there. that is all that matters: my proximity to the end of this summer. all in all it has been eventful—at least more eventful than any summer spent atrophying at home in between applying for jobs and reading overpriced bestsellers from barnes and noble. at least i can say that i came away from this break with a couple hundred dollars after taxes, a new appreciation for the majestic wonders of the blessed half.com, a new major, and a few life lessons. here, i will drop some knowledge on you so that you won’t have to learn the hard way. watch your head.

LIFE LESSONS OF SUMMER 2005

1. don’t send come-hither looks and salacious comments to men in escondido village because they’re all married anyway. you will just walk out of the elevator a more pathetic person.

2. rejection sucks. i mean it really sucks. i got my first reply from a publication for my article. “bitch” magazine said it isn’t what they’re looking for in their next issue but if i would kindly cut it from 2,000 words to 100, they could put it as a comment somewhere near the nosebleed section of the edition. the thing is, i respect this magazine. i am glad they have a rigorous selection process, because that’s what makes their journalism phenomenal. sigh. onward.

3. never buy books at full price from commercial bookstores. with the invention of half.com and other online used book vendors, i don’t understand why i ever bought anything from borders. more perplexingly, how do they get the first sellers on half.com to buy the books new initially?

4. don’t assume that a job will be meaningful for you just because the company serves a great cause. to be frank, you can work for ghandi incorporated and still come away from an employment “broke, busted, and disgusted” as the song goes. case and point: i needed a proof to be reviewed by a senior member of the company i’m interning for. one of my supervisors asked if i could wait until said member woke up from his nap. this is the stuff movies are made of. i’m a regular bridget jones.

5. safeway brand frozen family dinners are the wave of the future. the homestyle enchiladas will have you crying for mercy from the gods of hedonism, no joke.

i have rambled enough. tschuss.

*manda

schadenfreude

schadenfreude \SHOD-n-froy-duh\, noun:
A malicious satisfaction obtained from the misfortunes of others.

Currently playing: Fake French | Le Tigre

Bonjour mes amies! It's been a while. It's been a summer. And now I'm at home, attempting to break my record for straight consective time spent with my family since Freshman Orientation. If you will remember, last December I barely survived a staggering record of 21 days. Now, in a foolish effort to out-do myself, I will attempt 34 consective days. It's been 18 hours...

currently playing now: Like Eating Glass | Bloc Party

"Like drinking poison, like eating glass..." Ahem. So, right now, I'm taking a break. You see, my mum has me doing some paperwork for her. Naturally, after 90 minutes of that, I decided to check my email and quickly stumbled upon the word of today on my google homepage. An odd inspiration struck me when I read it... schadenfreude... perhaps I somehow identify with it, perhaps it reminded me of my upcoming Germany trip, perhaps I'm groping for a nonexistent connection. Either way, I thought I'd share it with you.

I like it.

I like my family.

mostly.

My dad got me some new shoes today.

I like those too.

But most of all,

I like limes

in my coconut.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/08/21/CMG2BDQCE81.DTL

I'm kinda amazed by this. Shiyan emailed me this article and I was like oh my gosh. This guy is younger than me and he had a stroke and he's coming to Stanford. I looked him up on the facebook and sent him a message and then we chatted online. His impairments are much worse than mine and he said he's not expected to regain complete movement in his right arm and leg because the part of your brain that controls motor functions was damaged. His story is amazing though. I mean it's such a bizarre thing to happen. So anyway, after chatting online, he suggested we should have lunch when we both get to campus so he gave me his phone number. I'm interested to meet him.

Other than that, I don't really have any news. Things are kinda coming to a standstill here in New Orleans. I'm looking forward to going back to school. It's weird to be out for so long. But until then, I will be bumming around New Orleans and whatnot. Hope everyone is doing well.

14 Days and Counting!

Alright, in exactly two weeks time I'll be on my way to the Bahamas to board the ship. OH MY GOSH! Yes, I'm freakin' out a little. I'm not sure why I'm so nervous, but I am. Hopefully I'll get all this out of my system soon. I'm finding myself thinking about all the stuff I have to efficiently pack during the commercials of Celebrity Poker Showdown. Ok, anyways, now that you all know about my severe anxiety let's get to the more important part of this blog...

I need everyone to either post or email (lebailey@stanford.edu) their addresses so that I can send you guys postcards. If you don't know what your address will be just let me know where I can reach you 'til fall quarter starts, and then let me know what it'll change to when you find out. I'll also be sending out a schedule that will let you know where you can send me postcards. It'll tell you when to mail it and to what port. I better get something! haha!

Ok, well, this might be my last post before I leave on the 29th, so I'll check in next time from the ship! There is excitement beneath all of the anxiety. Although I could just be telling myself that to make me feel better. Oh jeez!

Back to stressing...

just a comment

note: the post is incredibly boring. im sorry, i totally suck right now.

ok. so, two things really bothered me today.
first of all, there was a really stupid person biking on el camino in complete darkness - that one stretch of road between galvez and serra, where there aren't any streetlamps. wearing dark, non-reflective clothing. for one, i almost hit him for lack of visibility, but i still shouldve just tapped him to kind of knock him off balance to teach him a lesson... but i didnt want to put another scratch on my car.

also, has anyone noticed that rollerblading is getting popular again? there are soo many people blading around campus. and as im walking through white plaza at 11:00 in the evening, this couple - both who are like super tall - like taller than yamanda tall (sorry, just had to say) - are blading through holding hands. seeing them gave me the kind of feeling, where you like you know something should be seen as cute or sweet, but it's just way too much where you're kind of just eww-ed out by it.

ok, something else sort of good.
i guess this summer i've been doing fairly well in all of my classes, to the point where i could potentially get an A in all of them (at least i hope) - and that makes me extremely happy. and so for a moment, i had this realization "wait, maybe i am smart" and then i realized whether i am or not doesnt really matter, but that i'm capable of succeeding. i guess im being incredibly cheesy. maybe in a couple years, i'll be one of those buttbrains writing some version of "don't sweat the small stuff"... haha, ok, i'll shut up now.

anyways, i think i might take cs 106b, and possible even 107. i really like the way this class changed the way i think - or at least gives me another way to think about things. i think the way programming is is very organizing, clean, and efficient. i learned this week that people who take A and B can then become TA's or section leaders. I think i might like that, actually.

also, i learned something kind of cool. so one of the grad students teaching 106A is specializing in human-computer-interactions. and so one thing he pointed out was the suck-i-ness of program windows. because theyre all vertical, and overall, short - it takes a long time for the user's eyes to scan and find the desired command, and then be able to float the mouse over it. then it becomes incredibly difficult if there is a secondary menu. so he said one really solution is to have radial menus, where the option come up in a circle, so then the area you can click on is more of a pie-shape, so it's easier and faster. it'll take a while for it to show up in microsoft and windows and stuff, but they have radial menus in sims - i thought that was totally awesome.

i realized also how nerdy we stanford kids are, even the more fuzzy ones. i mean how many people can turn thewatercooler to hydration. i find it incredibly awesome.

i am also thinking that i wish i couldve gone to popscene tonight with everyone. i think next week will still be fun.
ok, well anyways, one final tomorrow morning, and then last one saturday afternoon.

update- too early to think of witty title

hooray for Annie finally posting. Not much has been going on with me...

I spent the weekend at Becky's helping her little sister move in. They didn't fight much, but I don't anticipate things staying that way. I got back Monday and got to eat red beans and rice and hang out with Becky and Tiffany so that was good fun.

I went to the hematologist yesterday and asked him how long I'll have to be on coumadin and he said "indefinitely." Basically since the deep vein thrombosis was life threatening he would feel very uncomfortable ever taking me off of it. So who knows? I still lose a lot of hair in the shower, but I'm not freaking out as much. What can you do? I'm lucky to be alive.

I just got back from getting like 11 tubes of blood drawn so I can't really express how fun that was.

I am very hungry though. And tired. So I'm out. Hope everyone is doing great!

Universal + Disney + kids + New Orleans + 1 Crazy Family = 1 Exhausted Lauren

Ok, where to start?

Florida:

FL was interesting, to say the least. As I've told you the other night, Yamanda, I have a better perspective on your feelings for not wanting to have kids. Universal and Disney theme parks possess the power to stop anyone's biological ticking clock. "They" claim that Disney is the "happiest place on earth," but after hearing countless parents yelling at their kids to shut up or to stop crying I'm beginning to think that's false advertisement. Fortunately, the kids I was with (18 month old Dylan, 4 yr. old Arianna,and 7 yr. old Nick) were relatively well behaved. Besides the occassional outburst of, "It's hot!" in that whining, annoying voice kids pull out whenever they feel it's the only way to get their point across they didn't cause too much trouble.

We checked out Universal's theme parks first. We rode on the Spiderman ride and afterwards I took Nick and Arianna over to meet the masked web crawler himself in the convienently place souvenir shop next to the ride. Spiderman proceeded to ask Nick for help fighting crime, and at the end of the day poor Nick never did figure out why this crime fighting had yet to start happening. We went on several more rides and stood in lines five times long as the actual rides lasted, but the kids were enjoying themselves and that's all that matters right? Ok, this is the part were you all say, "RIGHT!" reassuring me that I didn't waste my time. Reply quicker next time guys. Help me out a little. ;o)

Alright, so it's a little after midday, the sun is blazing and we've finished all there is to do in the Islands of Adventure theme park, so we decide to stop in the first decently priced restaurant with A/C to grab a bit to eat. Well, as some of you have already heard this restaurant might possibly be my version of hell. If Disney is Yamanda's hell, then the Nascar Cafe is my hell, but at least my hell has A/C. ;o) So we stopped there. I've posted the pictures to prove it. The car hanging from the ceiling would spin it's tires every half hour or so, there were Nascar jackets everywhere, Nascar on big screens, pictures of Nascar drivers and their Nascar families. Oh yeah, it's was great! Never again, never again.

After lunch we headed over to Universal Studios, hit up a few rides there before heading back to Islands of Adventure. It was a long, fun, hot day.

The next morning we went to Disney's Polynesian Resort where we ate breakfast with the characters. By the end of breakfast the kids had autographs from Chip N Dale, Goofy, and of course Mickey. They loved it!

Day three was all Disney World. I won't bore you with details. There were lines. There were lots of kids: cranky ones, smiling ones, sleeping ones. And there were ocassional characters and rides. Let me just point out that Fatasy Land was ridic! People EVERYWHERE! You could barely walk. It was practically a mosh pit. I was waiting to see some 6 yr. old kid crowd surfing yelling out, "Mickey is God!" or something to that effect. It never happened, but if I stayed there longer I'm sure it would have.

All in all though Orlando was a success. The kids enjoyed it and I enjoyed it because they did. Yeah, I know I'll probably be the first mom out of everyone, but I've accepted this fact and I'm okay with it as long as it doesn't happen too soon. At my rate, I really don't think I have anything to worry about though.

Next stop...
New Orleans:

Alright, can I just point out just how completely insane my family is! I have an uncle that basically doesn't have a liver because he's an alcoholic (he was in the hospital...again for part of my visit). I have another uncle that is the biggest Prince fanatic that he just can't accept that his 4 yr. old daughter's favorite color is blue and not purple. I have another uncle who thinks he's African even though he's like 1/1000 black. Oh, and I can't forget my crazy cousin. No, she really is certifiably insane. This past week she made a death threat against my grandmother, called my aunt a crackhead, and said my uncle was in the hospital because he had AIDS. Needless to say before being committed this past week she was taken to jail. I love my family. Don't you wish you had one just like it?! I know you do, don't deny it.

Anyways, besides catching up with all of them I caught up with Jules a couple of times during my stay. We enjoyed some beignets, a movie, a snowball, some of her mom's good cookin', some of her much talked about cornbread, and some hilarious laughter from comedienne Kathy Griffin. Good times, good times.

Ok, well that's the update of my life. Hoped you enjoyed it as much as I did. Next on the agenda: preparing for departure to Nassau for Semester at Sea!

Lauren Noelle Turpin - glad to hear Ohio is treatin' you well!
Nadya - hope Africa is fun!
Yamanda - I applaud your will power!
Nora - don't get into too much trouble in China!
Dina - I'm so glad you are exploring what truly makes you happy!
Annie - Stay strong, physics will be over eventually.
Jeanette - so excited about your pending work endeavor!
Jules - so fun hanging out this past week...hope you had fun in Baton Rouge
Pat - getting excited about China yet?

oops

hello everyone,

so, um, i realized that i never posted here, with the exception of maybe a test post at the very beginning to see if the blogged worked and perhaps deleted it after i figured out that it did work. anyways, yamanda scolded me for it. i do miss you all, very very much. homework has gotten the best of the the last few weeks, and i'm actually really sad that i havent gotten to hang out with people. i've been my own little hermit. except today i got to eat popeyes with yamanda and watch her be super-mom fixing a broken zipper for dina for the pinter fest.

i'm super exhausted right now. and i've realized how amazingly stupid and pointless some physics is. i.e. this question i've had to do for homework:

An 11kg bowling ball is dropped into a tub containing a mixture of ice and water. A short time later, when a new equilibrium has been established, there are 5.0 g less ice. From what height was the ball dropped? Assumer no water or ice splashes out.

How incredibly fucking pointless is this question? i am actually quite bitter about this. haha. well anyways, i still got an answer too. 15 meters. blah. i wonder if it's right...

i want chocolate. feed me chocolate.