SO MUCH STUFF

Somehow I'm feeling completely overwhelmed on every front. I'm way behind on my studying for the biology GRE exam, I've got orchestra to practice for (at least now it's one orchestra, not two. Last week drove me totally crazy), and I'm trying to pull together a homemade Halloween costume when I barely just learned how to sew a straight line. Plus, I'm trying to juggle three ongoing experiments at work when i'm only supposed to work 30 hours a day. Oh, and I might only have a job for a few more weeks. Add on top of that the fact that I seem to be suffering from some MAJOR seasonal affective disorder already, and I'm about ready to go crazy.

So I'm going to take a step back, and talk about completely irrelevant things. Like music and TV.

First of all, and most importantly, Rachael Yamagata just released her new album. Now, I'm actually surprised about how excited I was about this. I mean, I never really listened to her first album obsessively, although I do think it's gorgeous. But there's just something about her music that I absolutely love. First and foremost, she's just got the most awesome husky voice, and she manages to write really emotional songs without coming out sounding whiny or cliché. That being said, I REALLY HATE the pacing on the album. Yeah, it's all gorgeous, and as far as songwriting goes, I think that she can do no wrong. However, she stacked all of the slow, soft songs at the beginning of the album and then jammed all of the faster-paced and edgier songs at the end. I'll be the first to admit that I have a really short attention span, and after 3 or 4 ballads, I get a little snoozy. But I'll tell you, the first time I heard Elephants, I literally almost cried. This woman is totally amazing.

Another exciting media thing: I finally watched the S2 premier of the Terminator TV show. LOVES it. First of all, it starts out with a bloodbath set to Shirley Mansion (the singer from Garbage) singing an awesome song about Samson and Delilah (probably a cover of a famous song). Then, lo and behold, she's ACTING in the show AS A T-1000! Running an evil corporation! Yeah, I'm a huge nerd. Let's face it, I watch TV for pure escapism, so as far as I'm concerned, the campier the better.

Then of course there's Project Runway. I'm annoyed with this season, I think that all the designers kind of suck, but I was actually glad that the last episode went the way it did. I've been hoping for Jerrell to get kicked off the show for the entire season, mainly because I just despise his style. I'm personally rooting for Korto, because what I've seen of her collection seems much more diverse than the other two, and Leane's is pretty, but so obsessive and her color pallet is too limited.

And last but not least, there is the issue of my Halloween costume. I have decided that it has to include some sort of lacing, and I'm trying to decide between a tunic and leggings, or a vest and pants. Tunics seem to be pretty ubiquitous as Robin Hood's uniform, but a vest would be much easier to make really tight, and I could lace it up all the way. I'm also a little concerned about the hat and boots, since those are things that would probably have to be bought, so I'll have to settle for what I can find/afford.

Bye-bye summer

Is it just me, or did it suddenly turn into fall immediately after Labor Day?  It seems to have immediately turned darker and cooler overnight.

Speaking of fall, I have made an Important Decision.  Seeing as I'm taking the subject GREs in November and I have to take the general test as well at some point, I don't have all that much extra time to waste.  So I've decided to cut way back on my drinking.  Not that I consider the amount that I drink to be all that excessive, but the idea of trying to study when I have a hangover is a complete joke.  So between now and then (with the probable exception of Halloween) I am going to start imposing strict drink limits when I go out so that I know that I can accomplish things the next day.

Aaanyway, gotta go start getting ready for work.  We're partially moving into a newly renovated space tomorrow and losing a certain amount of our current space, so things are bound to be crazy as we're trying to find room for everything and organize it all.