She Likes Coffee and I Like Tea

Well, this is a post a long time in coming! I've been meaning to post for the last few weeks about how I had lost my cell phone on the Long Island Railroad...and now I'm posting to tell you the prodigal phone has returned to me!!

The entire tale of its' journey is a long one indeed, epic in many ways, but suffice to say I have a habit of falling into a comatose state while on my 1 hour 45 minute train ride home, and when I awoke to find the train doors were opening at MY stop, I ran off the train, still fuzzy in the brain and sans cell phone (which had fallen out of my pocket) and green scarf (which I had taken off). I only realized this when I got home and some chap called my brother's cell with my phone. This fellow (of whom odes and ballads should be composed and sung but alas, his identity is unknown to me!) wanted to know who to send the phone and scarf too, so I gave him the address for my dad's office and hoped for the best.

Time dragged on, and I feared the worst, that I indeed would never see my cell phone (with all my numbers!) and my green scarf (my very favorite scarf!) ever again. I wondered if the man never sent it...as singealiene and I mused, perhaps he was a diabolically figure that had no intention of mailing my things, maybe he only wished to raise my hopes so that they might be dashed upon the rocks while he casually tossed my phone about in the comfort of his home and laughed evilly. Or, perhaps my things were lost forever in the Limbo of the US Postal System known as the Dead Letter Room...maybe my things were in Atlanta, Georgia, locked away like the Ark of the Covenant and would be sold off at their yearly auction...

But No. Well, I mean, based on the date of the postage my things DID have quite a journey through the US Postal System, but they have finally arrived, safe and sound after about 3 weeks of phonelessness.

SO!!!!

Nella's Back!!


In other news, I've finally read Chesterton's Father Brown series...and I've finally realized who I was drawing when I drew him recently. It's pretty much a less chubby Father John, the priest who was our NYU chaplain when I was a wee little college freshman and the Newman Club (a.k.a. the Catholic Club) was the most glorious time of my college existence.

Today was the last class for Faunal Analysis, and I've got to admit--I'm sad to see it go. I really enjoyed that class. But how could you not enjoy a class that allows you to spend half of your time fondling the comparative anatomy collection that Professor Crabtree has amassed? I already miss the lot of us standing around, with two tibias in our hands and asking each other in frustration if it looks like a sheep or a goat to you.

FYI--"shoat" was always an acceptable answer. As was "geep".

I already miss Crabtree too. I think half the reason I want that lab job in the NYU archaeology lab is just so I can continue to work for Crabtree for a little longer. It's just so gratifying to have a Professor who understands that archaeology of the American Mid-Atlantic prehistoric IS interesting, honest! Never mind that I want to sit at her feet in wide eyed wonder as well, and learn all the ways of the zooarchaeologist.

*SIGH*

Though, things are looking up for this Nella! SUNY Stony Brook got back in touch with me, and very suggestively suggested that the Lab position at their archaeology lab is mine…as soon as the grant money falls through. I have no idea when it will or if it even will, so prayers, people! Prayers, good vibes, general evocations….anything you can throw my way that might tip the balance of karma, get too it people!!

AND Leslie at the South Street Seaport Museum has totally just made my DAY! I pretty much sent her a love letter about the Seaport and how I'd love to volunteer my Saturdays for giving tours of the area, as I've already memorized all of that info and want to put it to some good use. But just when I thought that that would make me all kinds of ecstatic, she PWNS my hopes with a; "But of course, and oh, we can PAY you for that on an event-by-event basis!!"

So, my friends, look for updates of South Street Seaport goings-on, walking tours and general historical fangirly events hosted (or, helped with, in the least) by YOURS TRULY!!

…If they give another walking tour of Revolutionary Manhattan, and I get to help with that, I think I could die a happy, fangirly death. Never mind that I'm also hoping to volunteer my weekends on their schooner, the PIONEER. Museum touring AND sailing? Happy, happy death.

May 10th, my graduation from the hallowed halls of NYU, is approaching fast. I'm already frantically missing my access of Bobst Library--that is probably what I'll miss the most about NYU, aside from the friends I'll be leaving. All those LOVELY books.

But meh, I have other things to worry about. Like that final paper I have to write for Faunal Analysis. Luckily, I FINALLY came up with a topic I can write about!--Catastrophic kill sites!! As a child, when I would read about how Native Americans in the west would drive bison herds over a cliff, I would always wonder how they could POSSIBLY process that much meat…well, I'm here to tell you that they DIDN'T, MWHAHAHA!!! They would completely butcher the animals on top, butcher an arm or leg from the middle animals, and COMPLETELY leave the bottom animals to rot/get eaten by scavengers!!

Now just to flesh that out to 5-7 pages with the proper site examples and articles….

'Til next time, this is Nella, signing out!

The deadline for applying for graduation in May is Feb. 2. If you're like me, you still haven't gotten any "heads up!" from NYU (because they suck. Big Hairy Monkey balls too. But mere details, DETAILS!), and know only by the virtue you were curious over Christmas break and looked it up yourself (and then wrote it down on several calenders in really big fucking print so's the reminder would be foolproof).

So, yea. Deadline is tomorrow. And you have to call Torchtone (212-995-4747).

Seriously, I can not NOT go to his class and not be immensely cheered up. He's like my real life Hymenaeus, only without the weddings. Just a few weeks ago, there was: "For example, I learned my Portuguese during my research of transgendered prostitutes in Brazil. So, if when I go to Portugal to give a talk, I get embarrassed because people come up to me and are like "Don, you talk like such a QUEEN!" and I have to say, "Well I AM, BUT--"

But today takes the cake. We were reviewing an article, and he asked some kid where the author was from, and where she was doing her research (Scotland) The kid tries to cover his ass with "Er...Europe?" And Don's like "A little more specific please" and the kid's like, "Er...Northern Europe?" And Don laughs and is like:

"Eesh try again, try a little less broad, this is important, You can't just say 'Europe'..." and while he's walking to the board to draw the country in question: "The continent of Europe is so WIIIIIIDE, Mein Herr."


I nearly yelled "CABARET!!!" But I definitely jumped in my seat. And now, I want to start a campaign for "Kulick for MC" or something like that.


...What is it about gay men putting me in such a happy place?

oh WHY was it CANCELLED! I was so ready for more Etruscan lovin', I really was!

Now I'm just going to have to go home and draw and study and shit. *sigh*

Another whole week without more Etruscans. Damnit, we were going to touch on their deities and religion today! Come on, you know you'd want to learn about a people who stole Zeus from the Greeks but made him one of 19 OTHER lightening gods!


...Might as well get back to Ricasoli then and start spreading the charcoal love all over my desk.


Expect another post today, seeing as I'll probably procrasti-fuck myself later.

Wow, I've been working on this bitch since 4 am. My title, you ask?



Take those Damned Gift Baskets and Shove It!

Or,
When Nationhood Comes Knocking,
Turn Off the Lights and Hope It Goes Away

A Comparison of Disney's Pocahontas and Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke



Don't ask me what my subject titles are. Trust me.

I have an Italian oral exam tomorrow. And I am fucked. Again. I'm RIGHT at that point of studying where I MIGHT know it, and I MIGHT not fuck up on the test. IF somehow all this information in my head manages to stay in one place and not leave on holiday just when I need it.

Oye.

On that note, I saw Constantine. And I really liked it. Similiar to the comic only in names. There just HAPPENS to be an chainsmoking excorsit in LA with the same name as some chain smoking blonde punk wannabe mage dude in england, and that's who the movie's about. And...dare I say it...I LIKE KEANU REEVES IN THIS MOVIE.

THERE I SAID IT!

I donno, he does the demon hunting, cancer dying, taking-on-demons-and-trying-to-get-into-heaven-is-all-in-a-day's-work shtick BEAUTIFULLY. You know when he says a line with such intensity it HURTS? (for example, the trailer to "a scanner darkly" his new movie...when he says "The two halves of my brian are FIGHTING?" you shudder as only a keanu delivered line can make you shudder) Well, guess what...those moments are NEARLY NON EXISTANT in this movie!!!!

AND he's set back the anti tobacco movement by 30 years, he makes smoking look THAT bad ass again.

AND he's reintroduced the black pants/tie/jacket white shirt combo as a sex symbol. Personally...i think it was all the tie.

Damn that tie.

And on that note, the fangirls are going to be ALL over this movie, cause you can slash him with every single male/androygenous character. The girl in the movie didn't have a chance. There's already a section at ff.n for the movie.

On that note...time to go back to being fucked.

So, I was in Italian and Gabriella (my teacher) gets it in her head that TODAY we going to DEBATE! ABOUT!...a past president. But since we were all ignorant yokels and couldn't really remember what the big deal about Clinton was ANYWAY, several members of my class convinced her to let us debate about Dubuya. The downside that I think they failed to realize was that there has to be TWO sides to the debate--it couldn't just be us mindlessly ranting in poor Italian about how much Bush sucks, regardless of how much fun that would have been.

Anyway, it was all half assed and half hearted, for in the words of Mike, dude in my class: "Man, it is way to early to be pretending I like Bush." Thus the debate began, and it was definitely on par with my 10th grade class debate on World Peace. Which means it was half hearted, ignorant generalized shit.

BUT!!!...that's not the point of this long winded tale, oh no! No, my friends, like so many other things in my life, the point of this story is Abortion.

And cake.

You see, one girl in my "pro Bush" group at one point said, as a rebuttal, "Aborto e` torto."

Now, I don't know what "Torto" means (but after looking it up in the dictionary, torto means wrong) but I know that "torta" means "cake".

Immediately, a vision of Jenni's Kerry-eating-a-baby icon combined with a remembrance of Lindsay and Erin marching around our old room in Brittany chanting "Feed Us. Feed Us. Fetus. Fetus." burned my inner eye, causing me to blurt out:

"And what if 'Aborto e` una torta?' Then you can have your cake and eat it too."

So, in grand total, I got silence from my classmates, a shudder from Mike, and a laugh and "bene" from my teacher.

And now I've got "Torta di Aborto" stuck in my mind. Who wants to join me in beating this dead horse? Can there be pastries as well? Cannoli's?

OMFG.

PREGNANT CANNOLI'S!!!

Cordially Yours,
Antonella
Pres. of Students for Life at NYU