Competition @ MindSay

You know, it's funny the way these things go.  For the longest time, the most played two songs on my iPod were the Rolling Stones' "Tumbling Dice" and "Rocks Off" respectively at 1 and 2.  I'm not sure how they got there - I like both those songs but didn't make too much effort to listen to them excessively.  But after I reformatted my iPod last summer (when I switched computers) there wasn't much on there for a while until I started getting seriously back into music piracy (shh!) and began filling it out with a wide variety of stuff.

Anyway, I would often add new songs, become enamored with them for a few weeks, get them ten or twenty repeat listens, and then let them go into the larger pond of my random listening, but the top few slots remained pretty solid.  But months and months of randomized playlists have led to a race... a neck-and-neck competition for the top slot with several challengers, and a quest to be the first song to get 100 listens.

For now, "Tumbling Dice" remains at the top with 88 listens, but tied with it, ranked alphabetically at #2, is "Song with a Mission" by the Sounds and Weezer's "The Good Life," at #3, all with the same number.  In 4th with 84 listens is Vanilla Fudge's cover of "You Keep Me Hanging On," itself a former #1 and longtime iPod staple.  "Rocks Off" has dropped to #5 with 83 listens.  Rounding out the top 10 are:

6. Weezer - Say it Ain't So (79 listens)
7. The Clash - Death or Glory (78 listens)
8. Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar (77 listens)
9. Weezer - Buddy Holly (77 listens)
10. Rolling Stones - You Can't Always Get What You Want (76 listens)

This all interests me because for the most part I don't make many conscious decisions about what I listen to, but I don't have my iPod on "shuffle" a lot either.  What I did throughout the school year was to make smart playlists of 150 random songs, which would generally last a week given my listening habits.  This way I could hear a random assortment of music, but also not let it get too repetitive.  My iPod is merely 2 gigs, so I only have about 450 songs.  There are times when I listen to an album of my choice - these days Weezer's Pinkerton gets a lot of play.  I used to make my own playlists - I made 8 or so of 15 songs each, designed for variation and mood - but I got tired of them.

From knowing me, something that might surprise people is that there is no Aerosmith even on my top 25 most played.  You have to go to #50 or so to see my most-played Aerosmith song, which by the randomness of the draw is "Janie's Got a Gun" at 51 listens.  That's below such random gems as Steely Dan's "Reelin' In the Years," Age of Electric's "Remote Control" and Third Eye Blind's "Semi-Charmed Life."  I have so much Aerosmith on there (54 songs) that the odds of one song coming up particularly often is low

Anyway, it all interests me for no reason other than I could have complete control over this - just listen to "Tumbling Dice" nonstop for an evening - but have chosen not to and this is how it's worked out.  I'll keep you updated, I'm sure you're fascinated.

I should probably get a new job so that I don't have time to fixate on crap like this.  Keep on rockin'
-Scott

I decided that, as I sat here and absorbed yet another episode of American Idol with my suite-mates, I would update here in my dear, stress-relieving blog. The last time I posted was Friday, but a lot of things have happened. Life at Binghamton seems to sit in the fast-lane; something is always happening here, something that tries the soul mentally, physically, or emotionally. I went home this past weekend and I feel I was hit on a dual front: home presented fights with my family, while back at school, I would have been presented with fights among my floor-mates and worries about one of my suite-mates (though those have been discussed tonight as well). I suppose I ought to start at the beginning, like always. This post may be long.

First things first: I've created a four-point to-do list for the rest of the semester. I was trying to think of some interesting and witty away message for AIM, and failing to do so left me with a list of what I'd like to accomplish this semester.

1. Quit smoking - it's already been a couple days and I know that's a drop in the hat compared to my lifetime, but I'm determined this time around. Since I moved to Binghamton, my smoking has gone down by 75%, or so I'd say. Not many people here smoke, and the people I've met so far (my friends and roommates) are all either non-smokers or very light, occaisional smokers, so my pack-a-day routine has become about half-a-pack a week, if that. I bought a carton of cigarettes two weeks ago when I was home and in Pennsylvania and since ten, I've managed to smoke maybe a whole pack, but not before the cigarettes when utterly stale. I've always known how bad it is for my health but just didn't care to quit before. I don't particularly care to quit now, but I figure that, since I've already been weaned down to such a small amount of nicotine, there's no reason I can't wean myself completely off it. No time like the present, they say, and I feel my approach to this is logical as well as healthy. I've become indifferent to smoking, so I might as well be indifferent, a non-smoker, and healthy than indifferent, a smoker, and risking emphysema.
2. Catch up on all my reading - the first week of school, I diligently read every word on every page of every book by the time it was due. Needless to say now, a month into the semester, I've stopped doing this. Up until last week, I was at least keeping up, even if I was skimming every now and again. Now, I've failed to keep up and am behind in my reading in all my classes. It wouldn't be such a big deal, but reading is absolutely instrumental in my Legacies of (Post)Colonialism class (we read, we analyze, we discuss), I have a test in psychology next Tuesday that I will have to study for (especially considering my last quiz grade was a 50%), and I have to do the reading for my German History discussion or my TA will know that I've been slacking (she's not really a Nazi about it [pardon the pun], but I really like her and I want to impress her and actually prove I'm capable of keeping up). All in all, I'm failing at this one so far, but I'm determined. If I can get back into the groove of reading instead of playing on my computer, I'll be all right. I've got about 70 pages to read in my novel by Wednesday and I've definitely got to read my psychology textbook before the test (at least the appropriate chapters). I'll have to do some magazine reading for that, too, and watch a few videos on the book's CD. Then... oh God, German History reading. I don't want to think about it. I suppose it's good I'm not going home again until Easter. I don't do work when I'm home.
3. Make the important phone calls I've been neglecting - I have to call my doctor's office back home to work out paying off my bill (or else bad credit report for moi!) and I have to call my community college back home so I can talk to someone about consolidating my loan there into my loans here. Otherwise, I'll have to start paying on that loan this summer, and I can't afford to do that right now. If it turns out that's what I have to do, I'll have to take out extra money for my loan in the fall to do that. I'm living very cheaply right now, with $450 to last me until May, and I can't afford any budget slip-ups. Having to repay that loan at this point in my life definitely constitutes a budget slip-up. Dear dear...
4. Sleep as much as possible - I've actually done very well at this, considering how much I have to do, but not for long. As soon as Daylight Savings Time goes into effect, I will officially die and never sleep again, at least not until the end of the semester.

So that's my super amazing awesome to-do list of doom. Onto the next thing.

The weekend home was... fraught with arguing. I'm pretty sure my dad didn't take his pills Sunday as he was in a ridiculously foul mood and found fault in nearly everything I did. I'm used to the niceties and freedom of school now, so when Dad says something horrible to me now, I don't bite my lip anymore. Now I fly off the handle and downright yell at him. In that case, 50% of all the fights we have are my fault, but I feel that my anger is deserved. He instigates so much and yet, after having raised me not to take any nonsense from anyone, he expects me to lay down and take everything he says and then run off to fix whatever it is that's wrong with myself. That will not and never will happened. The fault of instigation does not lie with me but with him.

Ah... point of importance: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy is a really confusing and all-around badly written book. It has joined Volker Berghahn's Imperial Germany in its rank as the bane of my existence.

Went to slash participated in the Thinkfast competition in the Union tonight. It was fun, and really interesting. My one teammate was... kind of quiet at first, and didn't seem very friendly, but then things turned out all right. We didn't win anything, but the effort was fun. Ally and Theodora (two of the girls I met at Orientation) came with me to watch, and they ended up contributing to the team effort quite nicely. They saved our asses more than a few times.

Another point of importance: my parents traded in the truck for a new car, a blue 2008 Dodge Avenger. It's a gorgeous car, though I wonder if it was as smart a financial move as my parents claim. Somehow, I fear it isn't.

I've got WHRW meetings and classes out the ass this week. I've got a department meeting Thursday, the Student Association Debates to observe (for four hours), and an apprentice class for two hours on Friday. Binghamton's St. Patrick's Day Parade is this weekend, but everyone in my suite is leaving to go home. I feel like maybe I want to go home too, but I can't and I won't because I need to foster a life of my own at school. I can't keep clinging to home like I have been, especially considering how much my dad and I fight when I'm there. I'm a sucker for punishment.

There's also been a lot of worry about one of my suite-mates; she hasn't been eating properly when she's in our company, and everyone's really scared she's not eating at all when she's not around us. I don't know what to make of it, but I have noticed a big change in her since I moved in. I've tried to help the girls think of things they can do to help her without imposing on her or ganging up on her, but the list is limited. I know they'll figure out what to do; they know her well enough, and she's a good girl. They'll think of something.

Now that I've wasted even more of my valuable time, I am going to go and try to read, though I highly doubt that will happen. God help me; I'm going to die this week. There's so much to do and so little time in which to do it. Fucking aye...

--Snyder

P.S. My mom makes the most ridiculously yummy chocolate chip pancake's in the world. Better than Ever's, the chef down in Iroquois. Fuckin' amazing.

Well ... it seems I have survived my first week on the NEW job!  Whew!  What can I say about it?  It's a NEW job ... so there are awkward moments as I learn what is expected of me.  There are personalities (all women - duh!) and differences.  All in all, it's an excellent opportunity for me to practice what I "preach" here so often.  That is, different is GREAT!  It's not better or worse, just ... DIFFERENT!  And variety, as they say, is the Spice of Life ... who said that?   

 

"Variety's the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavor"

~ William Cowper ~

 

So ... this week, I was with a roomful of 3 - 5 yr olds.  They just recently began to combine the age groups because some "experts" believe the older ones can be a positive influence on the younger ones.  The setup has its up's and down's, but ... it's the way it is, so we'll make it work.  The max we had for the day was 17; the minimum was 13 and most of the kids are generally cooperative and affectionate.  There is a young lady with MS and a young man with some sort of undiagnosed learning disability, but he, in particular, has grown much this week!!!  From being completely anti-social and uncommunicative to at least making an attempt to play with the other children.  It is fascinating to observe them and interact with them.  I'm looking forward to having some input into the setup, procedures, and so forth, but right now, I mostly HELP!  ;)  Wonder what next week will hold, hmmm? 

 

~ B

 

 p.s.  Please excuse me if I'm not around as much as I'd like to be.  It may take a couple weeks to settle into this new schedule!  :) 

I watched Sunday Best last night on BET. It's a competition between Christian singers to see who is "Sunday Best".

First off, I have an issue with competing Christians, but I digress. That is not the thing that boggles my mind right now. This does:

When a girl says "Some of my favorite artists are here" when speaking to the judge panel consisting of  the group Mary Mary and Bebe Winans, you (Kirk Franklin) should NOT jump in her face talking about "who is your favorite artist" and continue purporting yourself as such. Bobbing your head up and down in her face is not going to make her stop trying to look at the judge panel through your annoying-ness.

Note to Kirk: Getting great voices together and screaming, speaking, talking all over the stage and cd worthy songs that your groups make does NOT make you an artist. It makes you a hype man...and that went out with Flava Flav.