It's late, and i have reading to do.  perfect setting for a xanga entry. 

Oscars were last nite.  Disappointly predictable.  I hate when a movie is released right before the oscars, then comes in and takes all the big prizes.  i'm sure clint and hilary and morgan deserve their awards, but i didnt have a chance to see that movie and i think there were other movies that deserved credit that didnt get it (aviator, finding neverland).  i just dont feel like it has been out long enuf for enuf people to get out, see it, and be happy with the oscars.  i feel kinda...cheated.  poor Johnny is always overlooked.  and Leo--def did just as well portraying Howard Hughes as Jamie Foxx did portraying Ray. The had different handicaps, and both actors handled them well. But because Ray Charles died this year, Jamie gets the oscar. 

anyways, it definitely wasnt as exciting as last year's oscars, which ironically were deemed boring.  at least there were big stars there.  where was tom? nicole? mel? julia was out to present one award, but that was all i saw of her.  they didnt do much cutting to actors and panning around the audience this year.  disappointing.  and it wasnt even just the stars missing, there was a lack of celebs in general.  how bout the lotr guys? orlando was there, but anyone else? how bout tobey? didnt see him, and spiderman was even nominated for a few technical awards.  brad pitt and jennifer aniston, even tho they're not together anymore, you'd think they'd be at the oscars.....ben affleck? matt damon? i didnt see jude law. julie andrews? gene hackman? robert deniro? you get the point.  where the hell was everyone?

well i know where ben stiller was saturday....in the holiday inn at foglesville, where we were attending a charity auction ball! yes, we got our pic taken with ben stiller.  it was so cool! christine taylor was there too, but she booked it outta there and we just caught ben.  he was a really nice guy.  they were just trying to leave and he kept stopping to take pics with this horde of girls that caught him in the hotel lobby.  sweet.  it was so weird, on the dance floor and ben stiller is like 3 feet away.  surreal.  but i dunno why he wasnt at the oscars last nite. or if he was and all those other people too, why wouldnt they show them at all? weird. 

crazy weekend.  i didnt get back to school from the charity thing till after 1, then i took a shower and finally went to bed round 2, then woke up a bit before 8 when tra realized her jewelry cleaner had fallen and spilled into her rubbermaid of shoes.  (luckily, no shoes were harmed).  had to get up anyways--horse show at delval.  got there around 10 to find that they had started late (oh my what a shock--why i didnt go earlier) and they were only on the third class.  sucky horses for me.  i handled my pony well in the jumping class, but i guess the judge wasnt truly considering the difficulty of each horse (this pony, like they warned me, was a brat over the first line--but i made him do it and then we were fine).  i didnt pin, out of 8 riders.   so then my flat class.  the horse i rode was in the class before mine as well.  no one told the rider (or she just didnt ride him the way she was told) that he is mainly western pleasure and does not like people hanging on his mouth.  she hung on his mouth, pulling him sharp and all.  so he freaked out on her right before they lined up.  well i get on him.  they're like, oh you're western you know how to ride him, you'll be fine! well poor count was still freaked out from the girl before me.  his trot got really fast, and when i asked him to canter he took off at a gallop, getting faster and faster every time i half-halted. finally stopped him by pointing his face in a wall.  we change directions and go again.  i ask him to trot, he takes off at a gallop again.  all i could think was how the hell am i gonna slow down this horse if i cant pull on his mouth? i'm sitting back far as i can, trying to check and release, and getting nothing but more speed.  i think, this is sorta what happened with gem 2 weeks ago when i fell, should i just jump off? no cuz he's going pretty fast and i dont wanna hurt myself.  plus i was sitting pretty firmly on him, i didnt feel like i was ready to fall.  so i get his face into the wall again and he stops.  thank god. i slide down and rub him, trying to calm him down.  the poor guy was so freaked out, breathing heavy and shaking.  as i was leading him out they led another horse in and we redid the class.  well the new horse i got didnt want to pick up his lead in the one direction no matter how i asked him. so we cantered on the wrong lead for a while.  so i pinned last.  wonderful day, just wonderful.   plus it was my last show of the season.  next week's is the same day as Grace's baptism, which i'm totally going to, and the one after that is the day of my mom's st. patrick's day party. definitely going to that! (especially after last year's, er, incident... ) so no more shows for me till fall.  riding lesson tomorrow tho, should be fun.  maybe i'll do some western. 

snowstorm today. will we have class tomorrow? oh definitely. 

Here's some more, just for Tracey:

You "make a left" to turn left.
You find 20 degrees "a little nippy".
Your name for a sloppy joe is barbecue.
You buy beer and soda only by the case.
You prefer Hershey's Chocolate to Godiva.
You do things awhile, instead of for a while.
Your favorite spices are salt, pepper and ketchup.
You think the roads in any other state are smooth.
The first day of deer season is like a national holiday. (sick, btw)

You slow down at blinky lights.
You have to go to Gettysburg to see a Confederate flag.
You can say Firehall Reception without batting an eye.
You can give directions to Intercourse with a straight face.
You design your Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
They put cinders on the roads when it snows instead of sand.
You like winter driving because the potholes are filled with snow.
You can buy produce or crafts along the road on the honor system.
You know what a Nittany Lion is, and to you state means Penn State.
You get an urge to buy bread and milk when you hear the word snow.
Clopping hooves on a paved street don't bring you to the window anymore.
You live near a plant that makes chips, pretzels, candy or ice cream, or bologna.
Your four seasons are Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter, and Construction Season.
School closings take radio stations half an hour because every town is a school district.
You have caught yourself saying, "I'm calling off today" or "They're calling for snow."
You go to LANG-kist-er instead of Lan-CAST-er and LEB-en-in instead of Leb-a-NON.
Turkey has filling or stuffing, not dressing, and you actually correct those who say it wrong.
Local papers cover National and International news on one page but need six pages for sports.
You don't understand how anyone could watch football without halupki, halushki or kielbasi. (not a fan of polish food or football, but i know people it would apply to)

You've never referred to Philadelphia as anything but "Philly."
And New Jersey has always been "Jersey."

You refer to Pennsylvania as "PA" (pronounced Pee-ay). How many other
states do that?
You know what "Punxsutawney Phil" is, and what it means if he sees his
shadow.
You can't go to a wedding without hearing the "Chicken Dance," at least
1 Polka and either an Italian song (sung in Italian,) or "Hava Nagila."
At least 5 people on your block have electric "candles" in all or most
of
their windows all year long.
You know what a "State Store" is, and your out of state friends find it
incredulous that you can't purchase liquor at the mini-mart.
Words like "hoagie", "crick", "chipped ham", "sticky buns", "shoo-fly
pie", "pierogies" and "pocketbook" actually mean something to you.
You can eat cold pizza (even for breakfast) and know others who do the
same. (Those from NY find this "barbaric".)

You not only have heard of Birch Beer, but you know it comes in several
colors: Red, White, Brown, Gold. (PA dutch is the best)

You can eat a cold soft pretzel from a street vendor without fear and enjoy it. (at one time...)

You know the difference between a cheese steak &a pizza steak sandwich, and know that you can't get a really good one outside PA.

The girls have a surprise for me.  I won't lie, I'm a little scared.  They're all down the hall, "putting it together."  I dunno, they had wacky-Wednesdayish stuff out at brunch, and Tra walks back with a box real excited.  I'm nervous. 

Anyways, yesterday was the mini-blizzard of 05.  We have probly over a foot of snow.  Of course it has to come on a freakin' Saturday, when it won't interfere with classes but only with weekend plans (i.e. Dan  )

Going to shower now, more later. Tra just spilled soda. oy.

i <3 the 90's part deux.  i really do. 

i've now been to each of my classes once.  today i dropped 85.75 on one book. and it's not even like a big hardback book. oh no. it's a dinky paperback.  splendid.  that was like half of the money i had from book buy-back last semester.  at least i dont even need a book for my one class, and my sociology class only requires some novels that i'm sure i can get from amazon.com used for cheap.  none of my classes seem really hard.  of course, i say that with every intention of keeping up with the readings, going to every class, listening attentively, and contributing to discussions.  let's see how it goes next week.

finally snowed today.  i hate when it's cold for no reason. if it's gonna be cold, i wanna see some pretty snow.  i just hope the roads are clear tomorrow, cuz i gotta dash home after my last class to get bloodwork done before the place closes.  could be dangerous if the new little car slips in the snow.