After more than 3 months, I have finally found a decent replacement for the science center coffee bar. Or to be more accurate, for their mocha smoothies. Au Bon Pain has an okay mocha drink, but it's the wrong consistency. The guy with the cart in front of work has good, cheap coffee - both regular and iced - but it's not the same. But today on my way in to work, I walked down 3rd instead of 4th, craving caffeine, and a little shop caught my eye. I don't remember what it's called, but I'm sure I'll be able to find it again. First big plus: cranberry orange muffins. Second plus: iced mocha. I ordered it thinking it would be like most regular iced coffee, but no, this was blended smoothie style, just like the ones from the science center. Heavenly. One wouldn't think that finding a replacement for Swat's mocha smoothies would have been very important, but you have to keep in mind that they were what got me through junior year. I cut back a bit senior spring, but still - they were my go-to caffeine fix. This new replacement is missing the whipped cream option, and they're too expensive to get all the time, but still, at least the cravings can now be satisfied. Yum. :)

The process of applying to library school has officially begun - I filled out a request for an application. So now I need to get my rec letters together, update my resume, and write my personal statement. Whee.

In other news, I've been spending a lot of time with a cute, geeky Australian boy. My cat Schrodinger has been extra cuddly and affectionate, which is nice. The weather has been lovely. And, as always, I'm tired. I suppose you can't have it all, right?

Right, so it's been awhile. I'm still alive and actually doing rather well. I have managed to successfully find an apartment, graduate from college, move to Brooklyn, start work, and get a cat. I've just completed my 3 month probation period at work, so now I have insurance. Basically I've spent the past 3 months enjoying my new low-stress lifestyle. Free time! Reading for pleasure! No homework! There's rent and bills to pay, of course, but thus far it hasn't been too bad.

However, I plan on adding new stressors in the coming months -- I'm hoping to start classes for a master's in library science in the spring, and then in the fall I want to add classes for another master's, this one in costume studies. (Not costume design - it's more the history and culture of clothes than how to create costumes for theatre - info on the program can be found here.) In about 4 or 5 years I'll hopefully have completed both programs and will be able to get a job at a fantastic place like the Met's Costume Library.

All of this means, of course, that I'll probably be living in New York for longer than my originally-intended 2 or 3 years. But as long as I'm not living in Manhattan itself, I'm fine with that. My neighborhood is pretty quiet and safe, there are plenty of parks scattered throughout the city, and there's lots to do (when I can motivate myself to do anything other than loaf, of course). I was worried that I'd hate it here, but it's grown on me rather quickly.

Interestingly, one of the things I miss most about Swat (besides, of course, the people and the wonderfully strange conversations) are the plants. The city has lots of parks, but they're mostly patchy grass and trees as opposed to the lush greenery of the arboretum. It strikes me most whenever I walk by this flower shop near work - if I breathe in deeply, it reminds me of being in one of the gardens. A weird bit of nostalgia, I suppose. It's somewhat balanced by the joy of being in a state with sensible liquor laws - it's just so nice to be able to grab a bottle of wine or some cider at the grocery store, though it's certainly not as entertaining as an expedition to Delaware. :)

I have a job! Starting on June 11th, I'll be working at the library of NYU's Courant Institute. Now I just need to find an apartment... Well, that and graduate, but there's not much more I can do about that - all of my work is done and handed in.

My very last radio show playlist ever...

The Walkmen - The Rat
Cat Power - He War
Beulah - Silver Lining
Yo La Tengo - Sugarcube
TV on the Radio - Staring at the Sun
The Postal Service - Nothing Better
Bloc Party - Banquet
Sleater-Kinney - You’re No Rock n’ Roll Fun
Pretty Girls Make Graves - Chemical, Chemical
Ted Leo/Pharmacists - The High Party
The Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
Elliott Smith - The Enemy is You
Sufjan Stevens - The Dress Looks Nice on You
Stars - Calendar Girl
Mates of State - Nature and the Wreck
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
The Mountain Goats - Dilaudid
Weezer - Only in Dreams

Julia Stiles is starring in and producing an adaptation of The Bell Jar. I came upon this news this morning at Pajiba.com, and I also saw it on Gawker.com. When I read it on Pajiba, I was hopeful - I like Stiles, mostly because I still enjoy Ten Things I Hate About You, and I'm a fan of Sylvia Plath's work. The Gawker post made me a bit worried, but it's really the item in Variety that made me lose hope: "Book has many dark overtones, but Rattray said the project will emphasize some of the more uplifting elements. "Esther Greenwood has a strong outlook on life, and we're really looking to bring out the humor in the character," she said. "We don't want to do a depressing descent into the world of suicide."

It's THE BELL JAR, people! There's more than one suicide attempt, electro-shock therapy, and a very bloody deflowering. It's been a while since I've read it, but according to Wikipedia, the end is very open-ended. I imagine that will change - they're probably going to tack on a happy ending where she returns to society all better. Yes, there is some humor, and Esther is strong in some ways, but it's hard to say someone "has a strong outlook on life" when they worry about their future, see no desirable options available to them, and try to kill themselves.

Anyway, this is just another instance of my inability to escape Sylvia Plath. I'm working on my senior English essay (topic: biography in the interpretation of poetry, focusing on Plath as an example), and I was sketching out my plan for my final book arts project today (a flexagon book featuring Plath's 'Lady Lazarus').

Tonight was my best of the semester show; next week should be my last show and will be the best of all 4 years.

The playlist:

The Hold Steady - Hot Soft Light
Tralala - Yellow Taxi
Amy Winehouse - Rehab
Feist - When I Was a Young Girl
Cat Power - Living Proof
M. Ward - Right in the Head
Sufjan Stevens - Bushwick Junkie
The Arcade Fire - No Cars Go
John Vanderslice - Exodus Damage
Neko Case - Look for Me (I’ll Be Around)
Eels - Not Ready Yet
Beulah - Emma Blowgun’s Last Stand
Yo La Tengo - Mr. Tough
Cold War Kids - We Used to Vacation
TV on the Radio - Hours

The playlist for this week's show:

The Arcade Fire - Windowsill
Cat Power - Love and Communication
Neko Case - Pretty Girls
The Mountain Goats - Dance Music
Pedro the Lion - Big Trucks
Sufjan Stevens - The Mistress Witch from McClure (or, The Mind That Knows Itself)
Wilco - Pot Kettle Black
Broken Social Scene - 7/4 (Shoreline)
Built to Spill - Goin’ Against Your Mind
* Tralala - We’re Coming Out
Beulah - Cruel Minor Change
* Of Montreal - Gronlandic Edit
* Feist - Mushaboom
* Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
Tori Amos - Talula (The Tornado Mix)

The webcast was down (probably due to the lovely weather and subsequent power outage), so we were only broadcasting locally. Which means I probably had a grand total of maybe one listener. Maybe. Ah well.

In other news, I applied to three more jobs this weekend, bringing the grand total up to eight. Whee.

And now I'm off to bed, but first: Happy birthday, Mom!

The playlist for my special “The Future is Scary, Eep!” show:

Eels - Not Ready Yet
John Vanderslice - Ambition
# Skating Club - Panic and Doubt
Blur - The Debt Collector
The Cure - Subway Song
The Gothic Archies - The World is a Very Scary Place
Desaparecidos - Survival of the Fittest/It’s a Jungle Out There
Operation Ivy - Big City
Le Tigre - My My Metrocard
Enon - Normal is Happening
The Fitness - Day Job
# New Order - Working Overtime
Sleater-Kinney - By the Time You’re 25
Regina Spektor - The Ghost of Corporate Future
# Trembling Blue Stars - Hurry Home Through the Crowds
Harvey Danger - Pike St./Park Slope
The Walkmen - 138th Street
The Mountain Goats - This Year

When you start mapping out apartment locations (thank heavens for Goggle Map, btw), interesting things happen. For instance, I just had a group of 5 promising apartments turn into a set of 2 apartments - because 4 of the listings were for the exact same place, by the same realty company. Different brokers, though, so different text/descriptions - and, oddly enough, different prices. $1800, $1875, $2000, $2000.

Usually this sort of overlap is frustrating, but there has been one exception - 2 listings for the same Kensington apartment, both by the owner, both that sounded like really promising apartments. The descriptions actually emphasized different things, though - so when you put the 2 together, the place sounds even better. And it's affordable. I'm sure something is wrong with it, but I don't know what yet.

Playlist for the week:

Rouge Wave - Are You on My Side
* Arcade Fire - (Antichrist Television Blues)
Sufjan Stevens - Bushwick Junkie
Fiona Apple - Tymps (The Sick in the Head Song)
Steven Burns - Mighty Little Man
Visine - PJ Olsson
* Amy Winehouse - You Know I’m No Good
TV on the Radio - The Wrong Way
Driver of the Year - Volume Switch
Spoon - The Way We Get By
* The Hold Steady - Massive Nights
Friends Like These - Karen
Sleater-Kinney - Step Aside
* Tralala - One Hard Turn Deserves Another
* Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Yankee Go Home

Playlist:

M. Ward - Paul’s Song
* Feist - When I Was a Young Girl
Neko Case - Look For Me (I’ll Be Around)
* Amy Winehouse - Rehab
* Tralala - Are You Gonna Dance (With Me)?
* Arcade Fire - No Cars Go
* The Western States Motel - Powerlines
Wilco - Jesus, Etc.
Sufjan Stevens - To Be Alone With You
Matt Sweeney and Bonnie “Prince” Billy - Bed is for Sleeping
Jeff Buckley - Dream Brother
My Brightest Diamond - The Robin’s Jar
Regina Spektor - Carbon Monoxide
* Of Montreal - She’s a Rejecter
* Matt and Kim - Yea Yeah

And now I go to bed. Yay bed!

A rather disjointed radio show tonight, thanks to sleep deprivation and not feeling drawn to any one genre in particular:

* Tralala - Early Tonight
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Phenomena
Enon - Shave
DJ Shadow - Organ Donor (Extended Overhaul)
The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist
Shark Quest - The Rosetta Barrage
Sleater-Kinney - Entertain
Bif Naked - Leader
My Brightest Diamond - Workhorse
The Go Find - What I Want
* Junior Boys - Caught in a Wave
Pretty Girls Make Graves - This is Our Emergency
Metric - Glass Ceiling
* The Hold Steady - Chips Ahoy!

Yesterday the temperature got up to 79 degrees. Right now it's 67, and there's a good chance of rain this evening. Tomorrow, the high is 35, with snow likely. That's an impressive weather change right there. I guess the flip-flops are going back into my closet again.

Oh man, any possibility of productivity tonight just went out the window for me. Whole first issues of DC Vertigo comics online, for free. And at least 3 or 4 that I really must read, plus another 10 or so that look very interesting. Yum.

Playlist:

Driver of the Year - Even the Devil Has Friends
Death Cab for Cutie - The Face That Launched 1,000 Ships
Tegan and Sara - Where Does the Good Go?
Stars - Reunion
Beulah - Emma Blowgun’s Last Stand
Cold War Kids - We Used to Vacation
John Vanderslice - Letter to the East Coast
M. Ward - Chinese Translation
Neko Case - John Saw That Number
TV on the Radio - Ambulance
Cat Power - Lived in Bars
* Feist - Secret Heart
The Mountain Goats - Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod
Elliott Smith - Pictures of Me
* Tralala - Tallmansville, W. Va.

I've swapped time slots on WSRN, so now my show will be from 9-10 pm on Mondays.

I'm sick. Blarg. My throat hurts, especially when I swallow. I think it's just a cold, but it's still not much fun. Anyway, I'm skipping my radio show tonight (I've found a sub); I've decided to minimize talking and do as much sleeping as I can. Whee.

Playlist:

Barry McGuire - Eve of Destruction
John Vanderslice - Heated Pool and Bar
The Decemberists - The Legionnaire’s Lament
The Mountain Goats - Lion’s Teeth
* TV on the Radio - Hours
Sleater-Kinney - Get Up
Cat Power - Good Clean Fun
Wolf Parade - Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Mysteries
Stars - What I’m Trying to Say
Built to Spill - Traces
Interpol - Obstacle 2
Head Like a Kite - Injecting 10ccs of Temptation
Fischerspooner - Cloud
* Tralala - Yellow Taxi

Playlist for last night's radio show:

Shiny Toy Guns - Le Disko
Sneaker Pimps - Tesko Suicide
Ladytron - True Mathematics
Fischerspooner - Emerge (Junkie XL remix)
Arab Strap - If There’s No Hope for Us
The Hold Steady - First Night
Cat Power - Crossbones Style
Portishead - It’s a Fire
Radiohead - I Might Be Wrong
The Go Find - Modern Times
Bloc Party - Blue Light
Architecture in Helsinki - Souvenirs
Asobi Seksu - Walk on the Moon
Massive Attack and Portishead - Teardrop

My first radio show of the semester had a small issue: the aux wasn't working, so I couldn't use my laptop. Which meant that most of the show was spent scurrying back and forth between the studio and the music library.

The playlist from the all CD show:

The Hold Steady - Hot Soft Light
The Music Lovers - A Hell of a Kid
Spoon - All the Pretty Girls Go to the City
Cat Power - Living Proof
Yo La Tengo - Mr. Tough
Belle & Sebastian - Sukie in the Graveyard
John Vanderslice - Exodus Damage
Wolf Parade - It's a Curse
The Wrens - This Boy is Exhausted
Broken Social Scene - Fire Eye'd Boy
Stars - Elevator Love Letter
Akron/Family - No Space in This Realm
Wilco - Can't Stand It
M. Ward - Right in the Head
M. Ward - Four Hours in Washington
TV on the Radio - Staring at the Sun

My radio show this semester (my last one on WSRN ever) is Monday, 8-9 pm EST.

This has been a very draining 24 hours, both emotionally and physically. Found out about 2 engagements, had a long day of classes, pondered god and existence and such while doing my religion class reading, stressed about my future, and comforted/helped a friend whose grandfather died today. The last one, on top of everything else, led me to sort of go into confessional/emotional purging mode, which was probably good for me... But also -- (Note: This posting was interrupted by yet another deep emotional talk. I am now freshly drained of tears) -- very, very exhausting. Which is why I really need to go to bed now.