So, the PNC revealed the latest indicators today about just how bad our economy is doing post-subprime mortgage crisis.

The costs of the 12 Days of Christmas this year: $78,100

That’s up 4% from last year, which was only $75,122. Mind you, you’re buying some of the items repeatedly (ie. a partridge in a pear tree every day).

Love is rough man, real rough.

Anyway, on the more serious side, this price increase actually helps manifest the effects of several economic events of the past year. First of all, minimum wage increased this year, which means that the cost of eight maids a milking is now about $47 as opposed to $41. Also, food costs pushed the cost of geese, and gold prices make the price of those rings carissimi. This is also because investors have lost faith in assets such as housing so are turning to resources such as gold. Rest assured, those 9 ladies dancing cost just the same as last year.

The Down and Dirty: Christmas is going to be expensive this year.

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Why do I love Thanksgiving so much? Maybe it has to do with the fact that you get a break from school and chill with a bunch of people and just eat, drink and have a good time. There’s really no gift exchange obligation involved. There’s inevitably leftovers and shopping. Movies are watched and sleep is caught up on. Sure, I feel slightly guilty that my parents had to celebrate alone while I’m here in Boston. I do wish they were here. Or even that I was there. But still, Thanksgiving is Thanksgiving. I guess I just made up my mind I was going to enjoy it wherever it was this year. And Boston’s been good.

Except, I realized I have no rage. Is that odd? I mean, sure, I throw highlighters at the TV when President Bush or Governor Rounds speaks. But I never really get mad. I get frustrated when the internet is slow. I get irritated when College Republicans take advantage of my hand extended in friendship. I get ticked when my roommate turns on the overhead light or doesn’t let me listen to music while working. But still, it never lasts for more than a moment. I don’t actually get angry. I worry, I get nervous, I get paranoid, I overthink, and I apologize. Does this make me a better person or am I missing out? Would holidays like Thanksgiving mean more to me somehow? Would I write better? I watched Running with Scissors last night and Annette Benning at one point said, “Put the rage on the page, women.” I thought, “What a fantastic idea.” Except, then I realized I had no rage. Angst that it seems like a lot isn’t working out for me this semester, yes. Rage, no, because this semester’s actually still been really great. Frustration that I am in a perpetual state of singlehood, yes. Rage, no, because I’m generally oblivious. I don’t get it.

I think I should work out more.

Anyway….Happy Thanksgiving!

PS: Have you seen the latest polls? Obama is closing in. I’m excited. Are you excited?

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I really hate that feeling where it is so cold that, when you finally warm up, your skin is completely on fire. Good grief.

So, I spent my entire Sunday was spent watching Quidditch. Not just any Quidditch, mind you, but the Intercollegiate Quidditch World Cup, Middlebury v. Vassar.

My initial reaction to this fact is: I spent my entire day watching Quidditch. Now, this reaction has two connotations, both of which a extremely crucial. 1) I spent my entire day watching Quidditch. That’s got to be the coolest thing in the entire world. God I love Middlebury. 2) What the hell was I thinking?

Pros: The Mollywobbles (“Not my daughter Bitch”) dominated Middlebury AND Vassar. Translation: My friends are awesome. My parents and brother got to watch. General bonding time. Hot chocolate.

Cons: I still can’t feel my feet. I accomplished no homework whatsoever.

I have since been in the library for 6 hrs, a time period in which I managed to get all of my work done, which means now I’m freaking out. I actually finished? I’m not behind? Is everything all right? I did poorly on these assignments, didn’t I? But, seriously, how can you poorly watch a 1963 version of Tom Jones? Hmm…this week is going to be interesting.

Here’s a little new song to make life better.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzknjC-DJt0[/youtube]

I totally panicked when I woke up at 8:30 this morning and though I’d all but slept through Anthropology. Then I rememered…oh yeah! It’s fall break!

Last night was a totally chill potluck dinner down at Weybridge followed by an intense session of catching up on all Office, Grey’s and Gossip Girl episodes missed in the last two weeks.

H, S and I took a casual walk to Otter Creek Bakery this morning. I had some glorious Turkish Roast coffee and a breakfast pizza. Amazing!  After that we went to the Farmer’s Market where I once again ran into my Italian professor and his dog. Questa situazione e’ sempre un po’ imbarazzante. We bought some fabulous ingredients for dinner tomorrow night. Oh I love Fall Break.

Believe it or not, I was actually mildly productive today. I managed to update all Dems’ blogs/websites and do some Italian. I think it helped that I finally bought Starbucks coffee. Dinner tonight is with C’s fake family, which always has the potential to get too long. Oh well, 3 days of break left!

The more I think about it, the more I realize that the race for president is like one big, fuzzy AA group, a place where candidates go around and make admissions to make people love them and criticize their fellow candidates to make themselves feel better. There’s nothing wrong with belonging to an AA group; personally, I think it’s quite a bold move. We’ve all heard the saying that the first step to solving your problems is admitting that you have them in the first place. Well, the minute the candidates, Democrat and Republican, kicked off they campaigns, they admitted to the world they had a problem: they have the balls (figuratively, of course) to put up with the stupidity that is the American electorate and mass media and that they probably all feel guilty for electing Bush a second time.

As the campaigns roll on, it’s becoming clearer which candidates knew what they were getting into when they first signed up for this self-help group that is the presidential race. Take Mike Gravel of Alaska for example. “Hi, my name is Mike and no one knows who I am. Please let me talk.” See what I mean? He declared that from Day #1. Or Romney. “Hi, my name is Mitt and I’m on my first wife.” Others weren’t quite so sure. McCain: “Hi, my name is John and I’m not exactly sure what it means to be an alcoholic, but everyone else was joining.” Or Kucinich: “Hi, my name is Dennis and I believe in gay marriage, and reparations and young wives and…”

It seems to me that the stage of the game we’re at right now is the point where everyone goes around and, now that they have a little campaign experience and now that their exploratory committees are of no use, they put their weakest cards on the table, the little nasty ones that they want to admit before the press does. “Hi, my name is Hillary and I might not be woman enough.” or “Hi, my name is Barack and I might not be black enough” or “Hi, my name is John and I pay too much to get my hair cut.” In light of all this, it seems like it’s the Democrats that are doing a little better at fessing up to their doubts and flaws, but that’s not surprising: they have the most to gain at the meetings but also the toughest road to travel. The Republicans are being a little more hesitant at admiting what their problems are. (Maybe that’s because they’re all closet alcoholics and they’ve always voted for prohibition.)

This all means that we’re now at the stage where the candidates start surveying each other; you know, tapping their feet and trying to decide who they’re going to take out to the bar afterwards and ask to be the veep candidate. But what does it mean for average joe voter like you and me? We’re the counselors! Oh goody. We get to decide who’s being truthful and who needs to stand up one more time and declare themselves. We’re the moderators and the true alcoholics at heart. So what should are current response to all this be?

Collectively: “Hi Bill!”

I have this sudden obsession with Gothic novels. And not Frankenstein or Dracula, but their predecessors. They’re amazing! Plus, it’s an entire genre that deals with entirely messed up material and is not plagued by sequels or Disney. Anyway, my point is that, through researching the genre, I am convinced that we are living in an age where we may not read Gothic novels, but we live them. Take your basic Gothic stock characters (definitions courtesy of Wikipedia):

Tyrants = President Bush
- A single ruler holding vast, if not absolute, power through a state or in an organization
- Illegal seizure of power
- Has difficulty ensuring succession

Bandits = Oil CEOs/Barons
- Lives outside the law

Villains= Karl Rove
- Ugly
- Melodramatic
- The Bad Guy

Maniacs= Fox News
- Unusual thought patterns
- Hypersexuality
- Characterized by delusions and hallucinations

Persecuted Maidens = The Girls Scouts
- Young, nubile, virginal
- Helpless, naive
- Trapped by the monster/villian
- In need of a hero
- Wears ugly vests (OK, that one’s my addition)

Femme Fatale = Leslie Unruh
- Alluring and seductive woman
- Ensnares lovers in an irresitible bond of desire
- Leads lovers to compromising, dangerous and dealy situations
- Well endowed in beauty, charm and sexual allure

Madwoman = Ann Coulter
- “writer”

Vampire = IRS
- Corpse who feeds by draining blood from the living

Werewolf = Al Gore
- Hairy
- Cursed
- Closely allied with nature

Monster = Ted Klaudt
- Evil
- Grotesque
- Sadistic

Perambulating Skeletons = Paris Hilton and Nichole Richie
- Animated skeletons
- Controlled by another source
- Cannot make their own decisions

So you see? Our life in 2007 is just one big gothic novel, albeit one with horrendously appalling grammar. Basically, what we have to be telling our kids then is that the monsters have come out of the closet, ghost stories are true, and, if you believe in magic, anything can happen. And, like I said before, Gothic novels rarely have sequels, so perhaps this bodes will that what the Atlantic Monthly as officially deemed a “failed presidency” will fail and fade.

I usually don’t tell jokes. (I rely on my impeccable wit and incisive cynicism.) But I particularly like this one.

So, St. Peter wants to go on vacation and he’s asking God for advice.

“What do you think about outer space,” St. Peter asks.

“Mmm,” replies God as he shrugs his shoulders. “It’s all right, but there’s just no atmosphere. It’s not really that fun.”

St. Peter thinks for a moment. “OK, well, how about Earth then?”

Without hestitating, God replies, “Oh no, don’t go there. I was there about 2000 years ago. Met this nice Jewish girl and they’re still talking about it.”

Hahahaha. That gets me every time. Sad, I know.

But Bollywood and its general yumminess makes everything better:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_Wm1KDx2NA[/youtube]

(From Dhoom:2)

I think that if there was a theme for last week, it is coffee. An American study found this past week that coffee helps reduce the risk of skin cancer. (I like to read outside.) A Japanese study found that coffee helps reduce colon cancer. (I’m sure when I’m 60, I’ll appreciate that.) And another study found that caffeiene prevents osteoporosis. (I don’t drink milk anymore, except in my coffee.) So, in these respects, I found no reason to not have my morning cup of java.

However, coffee did significantly affect my morning routine this week. You see, Starbucks raised their prices, so I can’t go there as frequently. Which means then that I have to leave the house five minutes earlier to go to the local coffee shop on my way to work. But that guy (who’s at least 15 years older than me) keeps giving me his phone number. Umm, weird. So I can’t go there. This all means that I get to sleep in and that I finally have time to make a lunch. It also means that, with three weeks left on the job, I finally figured out where everyone at work gets there $1.75 20 oz. Starbucks. So, not only did coffee help my health this week, but it also saved me money.

I think coffee also played a major role in world events this week. For example, the President must have had some Wednesday morning because he seemed to be alert and therefore aware of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis. Someone should have given him that when Katrina hit. Or on 9/11. I think the President of South Korea must have had a little extra shot of espresso this week because he had the nerve to challenge Osama bin Laden for wold domination. Woo hoo! The Senate must have run out of coffee because they hastily passed Bush’s spy bill so that they wouldn’t have to extend their session. And finally, half the staff at Cafe 334 doesn’t know how to make a good cappuccino. Dude, they’re going to lose business if they don’t work on that.

(PS: I know I’m suddenly missing my posts from June and July, but I upgraded to Vista and forgot to change my blog filepaths, so you’re just going to have treasure what memories you have of those little pearls.)

Gilmore Girls is officially over. It was a very pleasant and resolved ending. (I mean, come on, Rory’s working for Obama. How could it be more perfect?) But I seriously think that while watching the episode I was the most emotional I’ve been since my mom dropped me off at Middlebury. Oh man. How am I going to say goodbye to everyone?

Reasons to be stoked for summer: SUMMER!, reading, writing, the Lake, friends!, work, sleep, UK!, Kaiser Chiefs

All right, as much as I am an Obama supporter, there is a fairly significant portion of my heart that wants to stay at Middlebury another week and hear Bill Clinton give the commencement address. I don’t care how many plugs he puts in for his wife.

Why is it over already?

I’m not sure there is a way that I could make this post more random.

PS: I have Joost (i.e. badass internet TV), so if anyone wants an invite, just let me know.

Don’t read into it; just go with it.

Movies my life is:
- When Harry Met Sally
- Meet the Parents
- 10 Things I Hate about You
- Sideways
- Wizard of Oz
- The Grinch

Movies my life will be:
My Best Friend’s Wedding -
The Station Agent -
Anger Management -
Never Been Kissed -
Sixteen Candles -

Movies my life should be:
- Cinderella
- Dirty Dancing
- Gross Pointe Blank
- Ocean’s 11
- Lucky Number Slevin
- Independence Day
- Catch Me if You Can
- Return of the King