From my last post:
(e:james)- I don't think I'm by Lark Str. But I will definitely have to check out the burritos and the pizza!
(e:lizabeth)- It was metro 20. Thanks very much:).
(e:libertad)- thanks you so much!

I've been using archive.org a lot to find music and documents.
I found a bunch of tori amos Mp3's:



I'm doing well. I went to orientation yesterday. It was a long day, but I enjoyed it. The most helpful part was the morning sessions. They had a bunch of teaching workshops; showing you different techniques you could utilize. The second part of the day was mostly about being a grad student and the various things that you should do to get ready for classes.

They also had a panel discussion of grad students. One of the students spoke about his experiences being both deaf and legally blind. He's getting his PhD in chemistry. Sign language is so awesome. It's amazing to me how people can move their hands so fast. I would love to learn how to sign sometime.

Today, I had a lot of errands around campus to run and my arthritis has been kicking up lately, so I borrowed a scooter for the day from disability services. Some people have stared at me and it makes me feel kind of awkward. Like I'm supposed to not stare back at the people who are staring at me. Most people are cool, though.
Take care and have a great weekend, (e:peeps)!

I made it to Albany tonight. I like my new place so far. It's a small studio apartment, but it feels comfortable. It was already furnished, so I didn't have to bring much up other than my clothes and books. I have internet and cable included with my utilities. It's also right next to Dunkin Donuts, which could be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it...

We stopped at this great diner for dinner on western avenue(?). It was decorated in an awesome retro 60's style. It had your regular diner foods, but it also had a bar with all kinds of mixed drinks. I had a terrific corned beef on rye sandwich.

Good night, epeeps.

Aaron came up to Jimmytown for the day on Weds. I had a really wonderful time with him. We went to see Stardustwhich I loved. Although the movie changed the ending of the book significantly, it was mostly true to the Gaiman novel. I really liked the performances in it- especially Michelle Pfeiffer's and Robert DeNiro's. Then, we went out for dinner at Ruby Tuesday's and stopped for awhile at the little lakewood beach to watch the sunset.

My friend Roberta got me hooked on the television show Lost and we had our own mini-marathon of the 2nd season this week. Everybody was always talking about it, but I never had the time to watch it. I'm still a little confused about certain aspects of the Plot, but I think the writing is really interesting. I like how they use flashback and memory to further thematic elements of the characters experience on the island.

I just finished reading a book that I couldn't put down: "What is the What" by Dave Eggers. It's a fictionalized account of the real-life story of a Sudanese refugee in the U.S. named Valentino Achak Deng. He spent much of his childhood walking across Sudan to different refugee camps in Eastern Africa. The proceeds of the book go to the aid of the Sudanese.

Here is Valentino's website:

I had never seen a fish that looked like this before: