Inclined to fangirl.

So, I've just finished three weeks of luxurious lethargy wherein I stayed up so late over so many nights that I actually managed to reverse my sleeping schedule from 8AM wakeup and Midnight pillow-hitting to 8PM wakeup and dozing off around noon. It was like the longest saturday morning lie-in EVER.  So restful.
But now I'm back in Collette dorm in Lake Charles doing my third summer of behind-the-scenes duties before the gifted kids get here.
So far we've had one 4 hour-long meeting, I've laughed and had a few silly moments with my friends the returning counselors and...my friends, the new counselors. My big thing of yesterday was folding and packaging all the uniform shirts that will be handed out to the students on Day One (this Sunday). For three years running now, I've done shirts, progressing from minion to chief - I like that folding and labeling the shirts is my 'thing'.
This year is going to be my busiest, most stressful yet - organization and fundraising for senior activities and senior trip! I'm the senior counselor, aka counselor for the senior girls this year -  The ambiguity over my title doesn't matter too much, since I am also one of the longest serving counselors now - Me, Blaire, Zealon, and Kirkland have all been here three years. Kenneth has also been here three years of course, but he is Coordinator of Housing this year ( a post he was *destined* to fill) and so not actually a counselor. The New girls this year are Ajantha and Lauren - Lauren has been one of my best friends since we were roomates togeather GPGC '01 and '02 and Ajantha was also part of the Class of '03 though she didn't stick around for her senior year~!
What I'm saying is, we all know each other. It's great to be IN on the cabal of people who've know each other since they were children.
Last year and certainly the year before, it was a tinge uncool to be with all these incumbent counselors - I always suspected they knew better and could handle more than I could. Well, I'm right about that - I'm so immature in my head still.
I always though you mind just sort of grew up without you having to work at it, just like your body does. Nope. I'm just as mature at 20 going on 21 as I was at 15 going on 16. It's just that I'm a *very mature* 15 at heart. Alot of my A&M friends have said much the same - they don't yet *feel* grown up, even though they and I are only a year away from graduation.

Hapily, on the fandom front Ajantha is quite a fan of Supernatural, so I'll have someone to talk to about the show, and I've gotten Lauren at least noddingly aquianted with most everything I watch. She's wonderfully indulgent like that. Plus we have the same day off. I plan movie and show marathons closly followed by trips to visit our beloved Psychology Prof., Dr. Brannon. I am going to try very very hard to find someone in flesh and blood to squee over the Star Trek reboot with, because I have been hopelessly in love with it for all four weeks its been out <3

Right. The day awaits. Planning and anticipation with initiative. Those are the keys to a well done year at the Governor's Program for Gifted Children.

Update: I'm checking out my girls right now - chorus concert is at 2:00everyone will cry and then the risers will collapse from the weight of 50 years worth of alumni all getting on stage (as is tradition) to sing Impossible Dream together.

My no-tease beehive of caution is fail no vertical height is gained by it, it just sort of sinks to the back crown of my head But I don't want to tease my hair and still have a beehive of fail because then my hair will be all flyaways until I wash it again - which I haven't the time for.
Ah, life so complicated when I don't just let my hair down.

---
Solution to frizzy hair - a front bang roll and a ponytail only half turned into mah Rosie the Riveter 'do - whoo!
Going to have a late lunch and then off to the choral performance where I hope to recover my Miles to Go - I'm rubbish at keeping track of it :(

Had an absolutely fantastic Friday even though I'm a dumbass and ordered both my rings far too big. Impulse buying when all you have is tailor's tape to measure with? Not smart. I squished them in doors and between tables 'n' stuff and now they stay on albeit in a slightly non-traditional shape.

We will have the costume dance in the 'Howdy' Room (Y Hallo thar official Aggie greeting!) b/c as had been the case all summer thus far, the Old Ranch is being renovated with shiny new paint (they scraped off the old murals!!!!) making it unavailable for us to dance in.

Went to Katie Evan's piano recital this evening with six of the kids had a lovely time there - saw Miggle(and Elise I think). On the way back we sang musical songs and bohemian rhapsody at the top of our lungs - even when we were walking past the students playing cricket on the quad.
 The  Roommate Game we came back to was terribly amusing. One guy guessed his roommate's 'celebrity crush' was Clive Owen and that randomly turned out to be the name his roomie had written down. Apparently he's more of a favorite celebrity person than a crush but he talks about Mr. Owen alot. They were so stoked that they'd had such a like minded moment. I have so many celebrity crushes I'd pity any poor roommate who had to name them all or guess which one of them is foremost in my favor on any one day. Answer for the moment? er....Either Neil or James, depends on how adorable Neil is being and whether It's close to Sunday, i.e. Top Gear day.

Read The Hobbit tonight for Bilbo Baggins's birthday (yes even thought it's actually in September) Aparently the stupids at the cookie cake place were quite bewildered by Bilbo's name. ah humanity, you're so lame.

The three five-year-Alphas blew out the birthday candles and, after cake had been served, Luke
began to read (starting from breakfast at Beorn's house), wearing the distinctive Bilbo Baggins hat.
In the beginning while the grads were reading all was well and loud but when the younger children got to read they mumbled so lowly I couldn't even hear if they were putting any expression in to it.

Chase was the star reader of the evening. Some ironic providence landed him the spider fighting section which he managed to not only read loudly but read with heavy innuendo. Everyone was in stitches. This was one of my favorite Bilbo Baggins nights. Except of course for the nights in which we begin or end the book they're always that extra bit special - that'll have to be next year I think. This reading began in 2006 which means it'll be a four year reading which is rather lame considering in my first year (2001) we began the book, finished it 2003 (my senior year) and finished it again in 2005, (my alpha year) in a session which Kenneth both began and ended.
Good times yo.

Kenneth articulated something I was thinking all night. " Bah! I want to read and show them how it's done." Shouting 'louder!' at the students only makes them louder for a sentence before they decrescendo back to their original volume. Wusses.

I think I taught myself how to french braid tonight. Go me!
I am engaged to do at least two girls' hair for the costume dance - One Rosie the Riveter and one crazy fashion victim.

Both promise to be quite fun!

Tomorrow I plan on beginning a LOTR marathon beginning around eight. I think I'll go recruit some watchers right now..
---

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a109770/who-gap-year-is-marvellous-claims-boss.html

Oh that's so cheating!!!!

Julie says four one hour specials, one of which is Christmas 2008, one is Easter, and one is Christmas 2009!
No fair counting the 2009 Christmas episode as one of the three/four! Foul I cry! Foul!
I was expecting a Christmas 2008 special, three eps throughout the year and ANOTHER episode at Christmas.
Boooo.
----

Do they make chairs with a back and one armrest? I think I'd like one.

Tessla's Birthday! Yay!

Since yesterday was my birthday/day off I dressed up at steampunk. ( Other reason being I brought so much to wear that I didn't just have enough to make one outfit for the costume dance I had enough for multiple days of playing dress up!)

Alas, that today my camera's batteries should be so very very dead!
Alas, that I lost my camera card! (found under a HP poster)

Rejoice, for today was a lovely birthday with presents from my girls and a really big card and cupcakes for breakfast!
I love that the card has stickers of my three major loves on it - pretty vintage cars, pretty Victorian ladies with fine hairdos and finer outfits, and stickers which say FANTASTIC! just like my dear ninth doctor did.

They call me counselor-of-mine, did I mention that? Ever since we watched Human Nature/Family of Blood last year.

I met up with the darling Katie briefly before she was picked up from her math class and then went to visit Dr. Brannon. Lovely convo as always but then it began to rain and we were trapped in the psychology building until the rain ceased and the three inches of water surrounding the doors drained away to the lake!

Etsy.com is my new crack. Soooo adictivly good as a website. I bought myself some birthday jewlery and skirt-raisers for a future steampunk excursion already.  I keep having lightbulb moments and thinking up new searchterms that could yeild me sweet results lon thinks I've always liked. ( 'art deco' or 'shoelaces')


Our End-of-Year T-shirts this year are a fiasco - but what year weren't they? (answer :2003, 2006)
Today was the due date an the design the government chose is laaaame and dated.  It's that tired old  mastercard horse, blah blah $1 blah blah $5, blah blah - Spending the summer with friends? Priceless.
What with using the ketchup and mustard red and yellow brainbucks as the card symbol, the front of the turquoise/grey shirt is uuuugly . Bad font choices too.

Outrage and disappointment are the mother of artistic inspiration apparently cos when I came upstairs Claire and Chelsea were busily discussing how dreadful it was and what much more clever things they could think of now.

We compared ways we hold pencils and had an excellent moment when Claire and I bonded over how nasty it is to have a big design on the back of your shirt since it will always stick to walls you lean against. High-fives all around for articulating that!

I suggested an art deco look before we all had a this brilliant idea for a  trompe l'oeil ipod displaying a start up acorn (instead of apple) with the different buttons replaced with the dates of the program and 'GPGC'

All the counselors admired it muchly and Scotia even took it upstairs to show to the current victors :P
Things have stalled here, alas it seems the local t-shirt printer is very crude or something and could not hope to make such a delicate design.
Better to try and fail at this than have the other shirt succeed I say!



Uh oh. I forgot to return my library book. Really hope they have a grace period!!!

Huh. Charlotte Russe isn't just a retail store that I adore - it's also a desert as I have just seen in the BBC4 programme Edwardian Supersize Me.

There's a whole series of Supersizers going off to eat in different eras and It's quite the fantastic show. My fave episode was the WWII British homefront one. HI-larious, educational, and the clothes are an inspirational match up for all those victory rolls and other vintage hairstyles I'm positivly adicted too now.

I've been blogging away in my google notes sidebar for a week and a half now - it's so intimidating to have that much bloggery to refine for lj posting! ...I may never get around to it.
In fact, I shamefacedly doubt I ever will even though (semi)exciting and interesting things happened.

Mars Phoenix Lander Twitter says: "Are you ready to celebrate? Well, get ready: We have ICE!!!!! Yes, ICE, *WATER ICE* on Mars! w00t!!! Best day ever!!"



Doesn't it just make you smile?



Had a giggle of a time observing antics as Julia in the shower tried to retaliate on Kathrine for dropping soap foam on her. Julia just couldn't hit Katherine with anything even though Katherine was completely disarmed with laughter on the floor.
ha.

I haven't actually joined the comm but I'm become impossibly enamored of vintagehair  . I've been reading through all their tutorials and ogling all their fine hairstyles and so it ended up that for today and yesterday I've had about five or six different hairstyles.

Yesterday I just used headbands underneath my hair to give it that extra height for a semi-pomp. I wore that to visit Doctor Brannon and talk about telly and macs and the grads and other fun topics.

Since it was still my day off, I went to the Dollar Tree with Kris and got cotton scarves and bobby pins and had much fun with those but this morning I went to Rite Aid looking for hair rats. Alas, it became evident that the reason I'd never even heard of them before was because normal drug store places don't sell them although I imagine if this were the 1940s they would.
So I jurry rigged some just like I thought I might have to. I used the knee high nylons that come in the little plastic prize bubbles and cotton rounds to stuff them. I've made rolls and victory rolls and some just plain strange styles.
I was utter fail at doing a Gibson girl. (will try again and again later)

But I thought the twenties design I did before lunch was utter win so it all balances out.

In that one I divide my hair into three but with a very small bit in the back and made two massive rolls by hand up along the sides of my head. I triumphed by by pinning my hair into obedience before I began to roll. With a scarf around my forehead and holding up the spare hair from the back I felt quite princess Leia if only princess Leia had gone for the twisty doughnuts instead of traditional style. It felt quite nineteen twenties but I'm very sure I'm just capturing vague looks and no specific proper styles.

What I'm really aching to do are fingerwaves but I think my hair might be too long :(

Oh! and what is more UTTER WIN is that they're going to use my multiple apocolypse schedule I made last week! Hooray! I edited and updated it to fit this weeks activities:

 

I'm so happy that he people who aren't like me ( Read that as: anyone but Alice and Kenneth) didn't shoot my schedule down.They were halfheartedly trying by saying it was too morbid and that they'd have to show it to Josh but he liked it, so I win against the Dr. Phil watching philistines. (we still haven't decided what the movie will be. I was rooting for Little Shop of Horrors but a quick amazon/google and I quickly joined the Dr. Strangelove camp. I hope it wins because really, there aren't  that many any good PG rated end of the world flicks.

They didn't even know what Ragnarok was. *shakes head*)

From the BBC's Top Gear Website:
    Sign up for the Top Gear newsletter and we'll keep you abreast of all the most important developments on the show and the website. It's not a regular newsletter so we promise to only send one out when we've actually got something worth     saying - and not just to tell you that James May has bought himself a new jumper, even if it's a really nice one.
    That way your email inbox won't be completely clogged with utter drivel and you can get on with the important business of sending your colleagues rude emails about your boss and booking cheap holidays.

My response: Bu-bu-but what if I do want to know when James buys a nice new jumper? *wibble*

New Series starts in FIVE days!!!!!

I've already read all the spoilers I can. Although really I think the term spoiler is a bit over the top. It's a motoring show it doesn't have a plot or anything really to spoil. So I know who the star(s) in reasonably priced cars will be and about some of the more interesting (and hard to keep secret ) challenges. FinalGear.com, yo.
Also from final gear, the final presenter for the American adaptation has been chosen and they're actually going into production. Do not know if this is good or bad. My first naieve response is 'How can you ruin top gear!? This will be brilliant!!' My second thought is ' Americans can ruin anything.'

 

I've just realized that due to the way senior store works, it could be an ace way to launder money for the seniors.

See, a student brings in contraband monies and puts them in the cashbox, taking out the same ammount in gpgc bills. Who's to know? Got a dollar bill in the cashbox with no Governor's Program stamp on it? Well, gosh it must have come from one of the counselors! Or from, *gasp* another student. Certainly not from the seniors, no sir.

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
I've figured out how to post pictures from my flickr account instead of having to use tiresome old photobucket!
In flickr go to a picture, choose 'Share this, choose 'Embed it' and copy what this gives you.
Then in LJ go to HTML view and paste that in the Embed Media popup box.


---
I bet there's an even easier way.

Oooh I saw a Shelby Mustang in the handicapped space at Outback tonight. It made the night  that little bit better.
I couldn't remember 'Shelby' for about an hour though. I just sat nonconversant and wracked my brains for what you call a mustang with the cobra badges on it. Problem was me making a portmanteau out of it - Cobra+Shelby=Colby....but I knew that wasn't quite right.

I wish I could have taken a picture of it but I was with counselors and they don't know about my obsession with cars that have appeared on top gear.
It would have been an unwanted discussion If I had whipped out the cellphone and taken a picture.

Ah, well, car bingo can wait.

--
Rode in Zealon's PT Cruiser today - maaaan, that thing has hard back seats. Like on a handicappers bus. But worse.

Yay! am at the Governor's Program.
Collette Dorm.
I squeed with joy when I realized we have an All-call (loudspeaker system) again. We ate at an interesting seafood restaurant and I had a small shopping trip. This whole packing light thing is kind of pleasurable - unpacking is done in a snap leaving one more time to catch up on Google Reader ^.^

I think I saw an Astin Martin today. I may have freaked out. alot. Must check website to see if they really offer a colour that looks like sea foam green. Jeremy does go on about how American manufacturers don't offer any good colours for thier cars but is sea foam green a good colour?

I had a napkin and a pen on the drive down with mom ( no I still can't drive) and I took a tally of all the Mustangs I could spot with extra points if they had go-faster stripes.  Also counted BMWs, Audis and Mini coopers. I may not know where the napkin is now but I'm pretty sure I kept it. Despite playing this car bingo It was a very boring drive.

I'm going to be the Delta aka Sophomore counselor this year, which means I'll have my same girls. Slightly inconvenient since I've been telling them for ten, almost eleven months that this likely wouldn't be the case.  We only have two new counselors this year, Katlyn and Bertrand and I think they'll be lovely. Blair, Melanie, and Scotia all returned as did Kirky, Zealan,  and Kenneth.

Bring on session fifty!



( Google Notes for June 4 )

6 days after I began watching Supernatural, I've watched all of season one.
I think that means I'm getting alot of 'B's on my report card.
Heh. I really liked it.
NO idea where I got the impression that this was a hack Torchwood-quality show. It's rather brilliant for its incorporation of urban legends. I was freaking out with glee when they had a hook-man episode. What really got it into my good graces was, after I finished S1, I wikipedia'd it and saw that the creators had been inspired by Neil Gaiman's Sandman and American Gods. WIN!!

The GPGC asked for ideas on things they should make available at the 50 year anniversary celebrations. Being a sometimes-browser of cafepress I instantly suggested these:

-Buttons with past and present acorns or other GPGC decals. (the small 1.25 inch ones)
-Magnets!
-Reprints of old musical posters and/or past shirt designs as small prints.

I would so buy any and all of these. Back in February I confirmed it with Josh ( The Assistant Director) that I'm going to be a counselor this summer. Way exciting. I don't know who I'll ask to be counselor of.  It's my choice but I always lie and say that 'they' decide it when any of the students ask.

I could do the New Freshmen. I could do the Second Years, but they've already had me and I don't want to break the unspoken rule that you only counselor a group once.

 (Unless it's 4th years that stay for the 5th year - that's different 'cos there's only one counselor for that small lot anyway)

I don't really want to be the third year counselor because I can't drive and I don't have the organizational skills necessary to run all the fund raisers they do to pay for their senior trip.

I'm perfectly open to the idea of counseloring the 4th and/or fifth year students but there my problem is I was a student at the program *with* the fifth years. Awkward.

I'm such a follower; I'd love for this to be decided for my by someone else. 

Schedule says, Children's lit test tomorrow, so I'm sharing one of my mostest faroritest poems ever.

It's called The Loch Ness Monster's Song by Edwin Morgan.


Sssnnnwhuffffll?
Hnwhuffl hhnnwfl hnfl hfl?
Gdroblboblhobngbl gbl gl g g g g glbgl.
Drublhaflablhaflubhafgabhaflhafl fl fl -
gm grawwwww grf grawf awfgm graw gm.
Hovoplodok - doplodovok - plovodokot - doplodokosh?
Splgraw fok fok splgrafhatchgabrlgabrl fok splfok!
Zgra kra gka fok!
Grof grawff gahf?
Gombl mbl bl -
blm plm,
blm plm,
blm plm,
blp



Read it out loud, it's brilliant.

My stupid human trick ( like a stupid pet trick, but different) used to be reciting this poem while eating an airhead.
Download a lovely Scottish person reading it at this page for free.

Hot Damn, Cello is amazing.
So while Ben was playing Guitar Hero He expressed a slight wish to play cello. 
I've wanted to hear/see him play cello all summer, this being probably my last chance, I pounced on it.
"Yes! Play cello please! Cello! Cello! Cello! "
We retreated to Blaire's suite where I started knitting the fair isle portion of Morgey's binary/matrixy scarf. 
Wowzers!
Cello sound fills the entire common room as I forget to knit another stitch for the next hour.
Aside from the beautiful music it is profoundly fascinating to watch the way he bends his fingers and quivers the strings. I don't even know the words for what he's doing but I'm filled with the urge to find out. It would be near-blasphemous to try and ask questions while he plays but when he stops after a piece I have eager questions. "what's an accent? can you play me a scale so I can see what it looks like? is this the same cello you played on when you were wee?"
Since he had spent the empty day playing cello his fingers and arms were very tired already and I think he might have played just a bit too much just because he wanted to show me some cool stuff. Then he packed up and I carried his music stand for him as we went back downstairs where we learned that sound does not carry through the floors of this building. That's good.
I finished the first band of numerals on Morgey's scarf while he and Kirkie played Guitar Hero again, I'm extra thrilled that I did fair isle knitting but I'd be ever more thrilled If I'd done it error free. One of my ones is shorter than the rest. *g* It's still awesome though.

And another bright point. My beloved Thomas Lynn from Fire and Hemlock by DWJ was a cello player. I know. I checked with the 'search a book' feature that amazon.com has. Now I know how awesome that made him.

How could it end?
For more than half my life, I have been a harry potter fan. 
And now, my first fandom can give me no more.
Potterdamerung is over for me. 
A new universe will have to expand now that the potterverse is forever frozen in time.
My facebook status is: Christine Richardson is finished with the book. Her life will never be the same again. She thinks that 4:13 AM Sunday July 22 marks the end of her childhood.

But my non spoilerly reaction is: She killed off so many amazing people that I can hardly bear it, but I am not disappointed, I do not think that any of them were stupid deaths.
Unlike Voldemort I cannot confess myself disappointed.


Point in fact, I want to reread this book. And bloody soon.

abusing troy by giving him 'cheyanne in a -----" images
being squished to death by julia and then 'rescued' by carson
watching musical with ben
the scarring kiss that will live forever on and on in my psyche
chillin' with courtney as she packs and I sign mtg
knitting something up for morgey baby - ooooh the yarns
having everyone draw me an acorn
trying to get dallas and courtney to room togeather
toilet seats being replaced
guitar hero
organizing myself into the slot to go to books a million on the 21st with lauren and james
...better make sure she gets that call....heh.
jobi stealing the cover design from the girrlz's tattoo. for shame!
Koob stealing my ID and me throwing things at him.
Me and margaux racing to the cafeteria so that we get there before the chearleaders - oh, how we lol'ed.
The wading pool we left in kirky's suite. heh. heh. heh!
Alice watching Doctor Who.
Katherine's caption for her picture in MTG
Our air conditioning is STILLL not fixed.

O m'gosh!
I did laundry.
I'd run out of jeans and t-shirts, a dire situation to be in.
Today is the GPGC formal and although the pre-party is scheduled to begin at seven, the children haven't even been let out of musical practice yet. That's crazy.  These girls need hours to prep. Hell, I took an hour to take a shower and fix my hair. If I ever wore makeup, that would have been even longer!
This dance is going to start majorly late. 
---I've just become incredibly curious about what the BCC looks like so I think I'll go take a look with the excuse that I want to see 'if I can help out any'
...
Back now. I couldn't help with cooking very much but I did plug in some of the twinkle lights I lent the program.
Now it's 9:30 at night, charlie has brought me back some nibbles from the dance, I'm dl'ing songs that people are requesting so that I can burn a cd of them and send them over via a counselor for someone to play for the kids.
I'm also watching episode four of the Stephen Moffat authored series 'Jekyll'
I'm also aquiring things from Kenneth's hard drive and burning Blackadder to cd.
Very multitask am I.

Fruit Drop day!
As a counselor I am invited to participate in fruit drop but before me and Ben deciding to do it this year, I can't recall any of the counselors actually dropping fruit.
Well, I'm enough of a kid still to want to drop a watermelon off a third floor balcony so there.
I also leant my watermelon tools to Nicole and Margeaux.
Then today, me and Katie met up at the dorm, went to Kroger for supplies, and dug out our melon as we sat by the BBC waiting of Katie's cute asian boy to walk by.
We also managed to give away quite alot of watermelon to gyphtid passersby.
My mellon this year is pretty simple, as such things go. 
This is my list from last year: