The District Sleeps Alone

Hello, Goodbye

2008-05-05T09:57:00.003-04:00

You say yes, I say no
You say stop and I say go, go, go
Oh... oh, no
You say goodbye and I say hello
Hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye
I say hello
Hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye
I say hello
Hello, Goodbye by The Beatles from The Magical Mystery Tour (1967)

I just said goodbye to Jasmine as she left today for home. I've had to say goodbye to a lot of people lately. She gave me the wisest parting advice I had probably ever received. Here's how our conversation went.

Jasmine: Have a safe trip.
Lauren: You too, I hope you enjoy Memphis.
Jasmine: Don't hurt anyone when you get back to Kansas.
Lauren: Okay, will do.

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

2008-03-28T07:37:00.004-04:00

Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's lookin' for somethin'.
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) The Eurythmics from Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (1983)

I just woke up from a dream. A really really good dream. In retrospect, it's impossible that it happened because the situation (place, people involved, stuff like that) was just so bizarre. I'm no going to go into detail about the dream (because frankly it's none of your business) but it just seems so cruel. It was such an amazing dream, and next thing I knew, I woke up to the sound of geese honking in the courtyard. It's a cruel world.

Went home last week.
Made orange chocolate chip pancakes.
I thought they were tasty.
My parents steered clear from them. Now there's a stack of 10 pancakes in our freezer awaiting my return in May.

Bittersweet Symphony

2008-02-27T18:14:00.003-05:00

Well I never pray
But tonight I'm on my knees yeah
I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah
I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now
But the airways are clean and there's nobody singing to me now
- Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve from Urban Hymns (1997)

Haven't written in a while. Don't really know what to write about. I what to bitch about though. The fact that some concert promoter hates me, and the fact that I won't be able to make it to some of the shows I want to see. I am simply a victim of bad, nay, HORRIBLE timing. Let's review the list, shall we?

Spoon, 4.2.08 @ Uptown Theater: Kansas City, MO - I will be in DC. I was hoping that they'd come back soon after the cancelled their KC area date last fall to appear on *cough* Saturday Night Live.

The Swell Season (Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova), 5.5.08 @ Liberty Hall: Lawrence, KS - Breaks my heart. Sadly, my Sociology final is this day. I absolutely wanted to cry, just bawl. I know they won't make a stop in D.C. because they already did late last year. NPR broadcasted the concert on All Songs Considered from the 9:30 club. I listened to it.

Kanye West, 5.10.08 @ Nissan Pavillion: Bristow, VA - Methinks I will be done with finals by then and long gone. Not that big of a disappointment, but it probably would have been an amazing concert.

Radiohead, 5.11.08 @ Nissan Pavillion: Bristow, VA - *Sigh* I don't even want to talk about it. Like I mentioned in the Kanye bit, I will be done with my finals by then, and I have to be moved out of my dorm by 5:00 PM by this date. And another thing that burns my toast: This tour is allegedly suppose to promote lowering carbon emissions. So my understanding was that they were going to visit venues which could be reached through public transportation. Bristow, VA is an hour away from the DMV area. I could not get there unless I rented a car and drove. *sob*

But maybe all is not lost. I'm still holding out for The Police.

New Soul

2008-02-07T22:23:00.000-05:00

I'm a new soul I came into this strange world
Hoping I could learn a bit about how to give and take
But since I came here, felt the joy and the fear
Finding myself making every possible mistake
- New Soul from Yael Naim (2007) by Yael Naim.

Apple commercials. Gotta love them. They always have the best music. Par example:

Technologic - Daft Punk
Walkie Talkie Man - Stereogram
1234 - Feist
Jerk It Out - The Caesars

Those are just a couple.

Yesterday I went to Capitol Hill for this forum my Government teacher was going to be included in. It was for a Black Congressional Caucus on racial profiling. It was pretty interesting. And there was free food. It was slightly hard navigating my way around the office building. The forum was in the Rayburn building which is one of many buildings that make up the capitol. I arrived at Capitol Hill early so I could walk around and kill some time. I went to the US Botanical Gardens, which is free. The garden is a observatory so everything was inside. In the main garden they were having an orchid exhibition. It was so humid and heavily scented . The air smelled like vanilla, cinnamon, and fresh rain. I wanted to lay down on the ground and fall asleep. I probably could have. The garden was relatively deserted on account of it being a Wednesday afternoon. I need to go back and bring my camera. What a sight.

Today during dinner, Angela told me that my notes are "funny." I didn't know what she meant by funny, and I didn't ask. I was more interested in the fact that she actually read my blog. The only people who I am 100% sure read it are...

My parents
Lee

In effort to get an actual estimate on who reads my blog, I will extend the following offer:

I, Lauren Elisabeth Oliver, will give one chocolate chip cookie to whomever reads this blog. If you read the note I import onto Facebook, please leave a comment underneath the note along with instructions on when and how you would like to receive your reward.

To my Kansas friends, your cookie will probably have to wait until March or May so you don't have a lot of say.

Writing To Reach You

2008-02-05T00:52:00.000-05:00

Every day I wake up and it's Sunday
Whatever's in my eye won't go away
The radio is playing all the usual
And what's a Wonderwall anyway?

Because my inside is outside
My right side's on the left side
'Cause I'm writing to reach you now but
I might never reach you
Only want to teach you
About you
But that's not you
- Writing To Reach You from The Man Who (1999) by Travis

The days have finally become regular. I am use to the ritual. I wish I was home. Not because I miss it, but because both of my parents have the flu, and there's no one there to take care of them. Lee and I have established a Sunday night phone chat.

Still haven't experience the so-called fabulous night life of DC. A party we had heard of ended not so happily, ahem:

Janelle: You know that party behind Drew (the boys dorm)
Lauren: The one we weren't going to? Yeah, what about it?
Janelle: Well, people were getting shot up and stabbed up, so we're definitely not going now.

Yikes.

This evening the fourth floor of Truth Hall (my dorm) but on a show called, "The Bathroom Chronicles." Apparently they had some very very dirty bathrooms that resulted in the ladies losing their visitation privileges. Bummer. They had three skits called showers, sinks, and toilets. Each skit had a popular song's lyrics reworked. My favorite was the sinks, but I can't remember their lyrics. I do however remember the toilet's skit very well. They reworked the lyrics to Outkast's "Roses." It went like this.

Caroline (Caroline!)
You need to wear shoes in the bathroom all the time, (all the time!)
Or else you'll get a staph infection and then you'll die (then you'll die!)
...
the song switched gears mighty fast.

P.S. On the Super Bowl:
I was for the Giants by default. I didn't really favor anyone going into the game, but Janelle was for the Giants because she is from the Bronx. I'm pretty sure she would have kicked my ass if I stated otherwise. Anyways, at first the game was incredibly boring, but it ended up being one of the best Super Bowls I've ever seen. Period.

Is It Any Wonder?

2008-01-31T22:20:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it's hard to know where I stand
It's hard to know where I am
Well maybe it's a puzzle I don't understand
Sometimes I get the feeling that I'm
Stranded in the wrong time
Where love is just a lyric in a children's rhyme, a soundbite

Is it any wonder I'm tired?
Is it any wonder that I feel uptight?
Is it any wonder I don't know what's right?
- Is It Any Wonder? from Under the Iron Sea (2006) by Keane

If you haven't noticed already, each post begins with lyrics from a song that...
A. I've recently listened to
B. pertain to the post
C. all of the above

Just finished watching the LOST season premiere. There were more questions asked, and not a lot answered, which drove me up the wall even more. But it didn't annoy me. The writers on that show are good at their jobs, let's hope they still have one when this whole strike deal is over.
This whole dorm is one gigantic maze. One day it literally took me ten minutes to navigate my way to a friend's room. To quote my friend Lindsey from Davis, CA, "Ka-ray-zee." She's funny. So, I've decided to keep a running log of hilarious things Professor Leon says. On Wednesday I asked Professor Leon a question about class.

Me: Excuse me, Professor Leon? What did President Bush talk about in his State of the Union address? I wanted to watch it, but I had other work to do.
Professor Leon: Well, to quote the great American philosopher, James Brown, he was talkin' loud, and saying nothing.

Ha. Ha.

This weekend I will make another journey to B&N (Barnes & Noble) hopefully the Georgetown one. Uloma flipped when she heard I had found a location, and that someone loved B&N as much as she does, so we're planning on going. Hurrah.

Optimistic

2008-01-27T18:50:00.000-05:00

You can try the best you can
If you try the best you can
The best you can is good enough
If you try the best you can
If you try the best you can
The best you can is good enough
- Optimistic from Kid A (2000) by Radiohead

I am in the the Undergraduate Library, or UGL, or Club UGL as they call it. Apparently it's not a place to study but a place to meet people and be seen. But I'm getting work done so far so it must be all relative. Lee called me not too long ago. That brightened up my day. I went to Barnes and Noble again. The atmosphere is so warm and inviting. And an extra added bonus was In Rainbows playing in the store. Very very nice.
Mari ( her name is short for Mariama) told me about her experience as an extra for the movie Tears of the Sun. Mari lived on a military base in Honolulu, HI. One day while she was out on the base a casting director came up to her and her friends and told them that they'd be perfect as extras in a movie they were shooting on the island. Mari said she was paid $800 to sit around set for a week. the set was the Dole plantation. I asked her if she met any of the stars of the movie. I first asked about Bruce Willis, and Mari said that he was a, "straight up asshole." Tee hee hee. She said Monica Bellucci was really nice and she sat down and talked to them a little, but her accent was heavy. Apparently it was one of her first American roles. I think being an extra in a film is one of my Things to do Before I Die.

Oh My God

2008-01-27T02:40:00.000-05:00

It don't matter to me
Cause all I wanted to be
Is a million miles from here
Somewhere more familiar
Oh my god, I can't believe it
I've never been this far away from home
Oh my god, I can't believe it
I've never been this far away from home...
Oh My God from Employment (2004) by Kaiser Chiefs

Right before Professor Leon finished class on Friday, he gave us details of our class on February 6th, which is a Wednesday. He said that we were going to meet in a room in the Rayburn Building. So I started to think it was on campus, right. Wrong, oh so very wrong. He finished by saying, we were going to meet in the Rayburn Building in the U.S. House of Representatives. I did a double take and looked around. For real? So I will have a class in the House of Representatives. That just sounds cool.
I managed to find a Barnes and Noble today. Very nice. I've always loved B&N. I wanted to find a newsstand to read a Rolling Stone cover article on Radiohead. It wasn't anything spectacular. But I did find a copy of No Fear Shakespeare Hamlet... the GRAPHIC NOVEL! How kick ass is that? A graphic novel of Hamlet. *Note to self: Methinks this would make a great Sin City/300
type movie, gotta hang on to that idea. There were numerous security guards on every floor, the looked like the ones you would find in a bank. Gotta protect that knowledge. Walking back to the metro I encountered a truck, with a somewhat whimsical quote on it. Long story short, I did my research and figured out that the quote was said by a DC-based children's book illustrator named Itzah C. Kret. Mr. Kret is an ambassador for a national grass roots holiday called, International Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day. Apparently this takes place every first Saturday in February. I might make an effort to partake in this.
Now, back to Thom, Colin, Jonny, Ed, and Phil. I'm listening to Hail to the Thief (2003), and this deserves my full, undivided attention. G'nite.

Common People

2008-01-22T22:14:00.000-05:00

"I want to live like common peopleI want to do whatever common people do
I want to sleep with common people
I want to sleep with common people like you."
well what else could I do?
I said "I'll see what I can do."
- Common People from Different Class (1995) by Pulp

I'm beginning to see how many different people come together in the capital city. It's crazy. I almost forgot that DC is a major tourist attraction. I went to the National Museum of Natural History. One of the last exhibits I went to was the Hope Diamond. It was pretty disappointing in real life. Tonight while I was studying in the lounge, a girl turned off her iPod, and started to speak to me. She asked me to sign a petition for someone running for a officer position at Howard. I can't remember her name, but she said she was Jamaican. Our exchange after I signed the petition was pretty funny:

Her: So, where are you from?
Me: Oh, well... Have you heard of a state called Kansas?
Her: Yeah, actually. Dorothy, ruby-red slippers...
Me: Haha... yeah, exactly.
Normally I would have been annoyed, but I wasn't. I thought it was funny. Oh, the people you will meet. Oh, the people I have met.

The Wind

2008-01-21T03:47:00.000-05:00

I listen to my words but they fall far below
I let my music take me where my heart wants to go
I swam upon the devil's lake but never, never never never
I'll never make the same mistake no, never, never, never
-The Wind from Teaser and the Firecat (1971) by Cat Stevens

The past two days have been colder. It wouldn't be so bad, but the wind makes it exceptionally worse. The cold is face freezing. The kind where your cheeks harden to the point where talking is impossible and you start to drool because your mouth has been reduced to a gaping mess. My navy peacoat is apparently no match for the weather.
I'm sitting in the lounge under a set of bright fluorescent lights with nothing but the season 2 DVD of The Adventures of Pete and Pete, and a bowl of Easy Mac to comfort me. The vending machines make a dull purring sound as I delve into one of my favorite childhood memories. It's four o'clock in the morning. I was on the verge of sleep when I woke up to the sound of one of my roomates on the phone with someone from home. My roommates are always on the phone. Sometimes, they don't have the decency to leave the room when they are on the phone. This particular conversation had something to do with a boy, sheets, and how, "...he probably didn't wash those sheets from whatever he did with his girlfriend before he got with you."
I grimaced into my pillowcase.
My roommate stayed on the phone for another fifteen minutes before she decided to end the conversation, and quickly fell into what I'm assuming to be a deep sleep. Too bad I did not follow suit. After minutes of tossing and turning I climbed down from my bed, grabbed my iBook, my DVDs, a bowl of Easy Mac, a spoon, and headed to the lounge. On my way there I heard another girl, presumably drunk, talking on the phone. And from the number of expletives she used, I'm guessing it was a heated conversation.
My Easy Mac is gone. Time to turn in. G'nite, or I guess I should say good morning.

Politik

2008-01-16T18:12:00.000-05:00

Give me one cause one is best in confusion confidence
Give me peace of mind and trust don't forget the rest of us
Give me strength, reserve control
Give me heart and give me soul
Wounds that heal and cracks that fix, tell me your own politik
-Politik, from A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002) by Coldplay

Just got back form yet another exciting government lecture from Professor Leon. And no, I'm not being sarcastic. I've started to look forward to his class. Last class when we were talking about immigration in the United States, he managed to squeeze a laugh in:

"Maybe we should look at how U.S. foreign policy is affecting countries like Mexico and countries in Central America. Maybe that's why everyone is trying to get into America. You don't hear about how NAFTA has raised the price of corn to the point where you can't find a tortilla in Mexico. Who would have ever thought there were cities in Mexico you could go to and not find tortillas. That's like going to some black folks house and not being able to find... chicken!"

Made me laugh. A lot.

In today's lecture about learned politics he talked about the incident at the 1968 Olympic Games where athletes John Carlos and Tommie Smith displayed the black power salute during the award ceremony for the 200 meter race. Professor Leon told us a story of a boy in the fifth grade who went to school two days later, and when the Star-Spangled banner was played before school he raised his fist and bowed his head.
That boy was kicked out of school later that day.
That boy was Professor Leon.
Professor Leon said that he was the only black kid in school and that his classmates went home and were afraid that there was a radical in their class. Professor Leon eventually returned to the school. He also mentioned that the school was Catholic, but that's neither here nor there. Can't wait until next class period.

Driftwood

2008-01-15T11:22:00.000-05:00

You're driftwood floating underwater, breaking into pieces, piece, pieces
just driftwood hollow and of no use, waterfalls will find you, bind you, grind you.
-Driftwood from The Man Who (1999), by Travis

This song was playing right before my iPod decided to shut down. It was okay though, Sociology class was about to start. There's a bell on campus that rings every hour and every half and hour. I know a lot of campuses have one (KU does), but it's so close to the dorm. It makes it kind of difficult to catch some Z's in the afternoon, you know? Anyways, it starts ringing at seven in the morning. Making it impossible to sleep in. And just when I thought I could try and catch a nap in between Sociology and Calc, someone starts playing the piano outside. My floor has half of the rooms because across the hall there is a huge lounge which has a baby grand piano. I think the girl is trying to figure out how to play Rihanna's 'Unfaithful'. Bleck, I hate that song.
Even though I attend an HBCU, I did not realize that the classes would be so concentrated in how the subject affects Blacks. Black literature in English class. In government we talk about how politics affects Blacks. In political science we talked about the Hip-Hop Nation culture. I'm not complaining, it's just so different.