I'm at my apartment!! And I've actually been here since Saturday afternoon. I just don't have any freaking internet yet...right now I'm borrowing Dylan's computer (he gave it to me while he's in class-yessss! I can finally look at people's blogs!). So I am taking advantage of this chance. Hopefully, if all goes well, I will have internet by the beginning of next week.
So, the apartment is better than I expected, which is awesome. My room is the smallest one in the building, but I actually like it better that way--all of my stuff fits, and it feels kind of cozy. I'm also planning to hopefully get two pet rats to keep me company! Hehe--my roommate Jessica hates rats (and most animals), so I have to promise to keep them in my room pretty much all the time. But I think I can handle that. I'm planning to give the rats French names, like Maurice and Benoit, perhaps. Any other ideas?
Last night Dylan, Theo and I watched a PBS show how to raise puppies for about an hour. That's kind of what we do around here. Since there's no internet yet for us, we watch the seven channels we get on TV, sit around talking, and eat. Good times. Of course, school just started today, and both of my roommates just got jobs at the dining commons, so chances are we'll be a little bit more busy now. I'll probably be at the apartment by myself more (sniff).
It's nice to be back in Davis! I hope it rains a lot this winter.

Ich gehe morgen.
I'm leaving tomorrow.
It's been a swell summer, and I'm not being sarcastic.
Hopefully everyone has a good second year of school--a lot of us will be adjusting to at least one more change in life: living in an apartment.
I'm very happy I got to talk to most of you! Hopefully I will see everyone again, before too much time has passed.

By the beard of Zeus! I meant to publish that post on September 15th. But apparently it was just saved as a draft until I checked today. Very annoying.
I'm moving into my apartment this Saturday! So exciting!
I had a good last weekend in Socal--Leah and Mom and I stayed in San Clemente. Dulcimer Festival for Mum, and beach for Leah and me! And driving up to Davis for Dad, to drop off my furniture. He may have gotten the shorter end of the deal, but. . . the rest of us had fun!

These final weeks before I go back to school have been a BLAST. And when I say BLAST I mean BLAST as in going to the dentist three times in two weeks, and getting at least four fillings. I was so proud of myself! Me and my (falsely) clean teeth! Ah well. I suppose there comes a time in every person's life when they are going to have teeth problems. But can't I just be DONE with mine? I mean, I got braces three times. . . .

Ok, I'm done complaining about that now. Now I must urge all of my readers to buy this awesome CD: Nellie McKay. It is SO good! Granted, I'd have to say her music probably doesn't have universal appeal. But she's so cool. She plays piano, writes her own stuff, sings it, and the songs are really catchy, and they're in all different styles, although I'd say mainly jazz. Plus, she's only 19. And she's WAY better than Norah Jones, which many articles compare her to. No offense to Norah Jones fans (ahem--Hannah), but all the songs I've heard by her sound the same. And they make me fall asleep. So yeah. Nellie McKay just came out with this CD, and she doesn't have a whole lot of publicity, so everyone should look into it. Plus, she has a whole song about how great dogs are for companions, and how you should get one at the pound. She's a member of PETA, too! Ok, I'm done now. My obsession with Garden State has now changed into my obsession with Nellie McKay.

Last weekend I saw Napoleon Dynamite twice in two days, the first time with Pauline (we weren't really sure what to expect), and the second time with my whole family. What a funny movie! I know I am way behind in seeing this movie, but I had doubts about how good it would be. But, as pretty much everyone else has said, it's hilarious. My parents loved it, too, probably more than I did, much to my surprise. I was worried they would think the story line was pointless. But my mom was cracking up from the opening scene of Napoleon just standing in front of his house, staring at the ground. Good times. My dad also took me and my sister to see Hero. That movie was alright. Pretty much what I expected it to be. Better plot than Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in my opinion, though.

In other news. . . there is no other news, about me, anyway. But Leah's gonna start volunteering at the L.A. Zoo. She's gonna get to give talks and stuff to little kids about saving endangered species, and stuff like that. Is that cool or what?

The Only Living Boy in New York, by Simon and Garfunkel

Tom, get your plane right on time.
I know your part’ll go fine.
Fly down to Mexico.
Da-n-da-da-n-da-n-da-da and here I am,
The only living boy in New York.

I get the news I need on the weather report.
I can gather all the news I need on the weather report.
Hey, I’ve got nothing to do today but smile.
Da-n-da-da-n-da-da-n-da-da here I am,
The only living boy in new york.
Half of the time we’re gone but we don’t know where,
And we don’t know here.

Tom, get your plane right on time.
I know you’ve been eager to fly now.
Hey let your honesty shine, shine, shine, now.
Da-n-da-da-n-da-da-n-da-da
Like it shines on me.

The only living boy in New York,
The only living boy in New York.

That song makes me happy.

Today was fun. Pauline and I drove out to visit Vivian (whom I haven’t seen since, like, last summer), and she took us out vintage shopping! Well, actually, we only went to one store, called Iguana Vintage Clothing, on Hollywood Blvd. The store was huge, though—definitely bigger than Aardvarks. So while we were looking at the clothes, Pauline jokingly picked out a frilly, old-fashioned green dress that she said I should buy, so I decided to try it on…much to Pauline’s embarrassed amusement. It fit pretty well! I didn’t buy the dress, but it definitely provided some entertainment.
Then we were all starving, so we went to eat at Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles, for my first time. It’s famous, so I felt the need to try their food. And I wasn’t let down. Had the mac and cheese, along with potatoes and gravy and cornbread. Man, six hours later I’m still full.

Ok, guys. I'm starting to get scared. I've thought for the last three or four months that everyone was sick of Bush and wanted him out. But now, after the GOP conference, Bush is back in the lead again. And Kerry's not doin' too well at improving his "flip-flop" image. Goodness gracious! I really don't know what I'm going to do if Bush wins this election. I still have to finish at least three years of school at Davis before I can move to Canada. . . .
Everyone, VOTE this election! And not for Bush. Hehe.

YAY! My parents have taken pity on me. To make a long discussion short, they're only making me pay $425 for the damages! I'm so spoiled! Well, not that much. . .I still have to pay something, but. . .hooray!