guided by a new era

I LOVE SHOPPING AND HERE IS WHY:

Today, I went to the mall with xolola and spent $40 at four different stores. For $40, I got:

- a steering wheel cover
- a thermal shirt (originally $24.50, got it for $7.63)
- a pair of jeans (originally $36, got them for $8 fuck yeah)
- a headband
- a pair of leggings

MWAHAHA.

The timing for the shopping was shitty, though. For the past two Saturdays I've had to leave early because they can't afford to pay me to stay for eight hours because there isn't enough business; yesterday I found out that from now until we get more business, Saturdays we are open from 11 to 3 instead of 9 to 5. So I work 5 hours per week, for $7/hour. Once taxes are taken out, I make $30 a week, down from $70. FUCK.

I just got back from seeing Milk. IT WAS SO GOOD. It changed my perspective on life. Really, it did. I have my criticisms (where the hell were the lesbians?) but it was still an amazing movie. GO SEE IT. GO GO GO.

- So the deal with the U of M application is that, because the teacher letter of recommendation came late, they can't look at the application until all the components are in, and looking at one application can take up to two months, they have not yet come to a decision about my application. They know that I tried to apply early action and will take that into account, it's simply a matter of the amount of time it takes to look at the application. This makes me feel a lot better.

- There are four movies I want to see: Slumdog Millionaire, Milk (going to see it this Friday), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Gran Torino. For once I actually like a lot of the movies that are in the running for lots of Oscar nominations.

- UGH FINALS. Three essays, a project and a test. BLEHHH.

- My students in LGBT studies are writing their final research essays on very interesting topics. One is writing about the treatment of homosexuals in apartheid South Africa and the other is doing homosexuality in pre-British-fucking-up China. I am excited to read their essays.

I had a driving scare today. The roads have been snowy and icey and blehhh for the past couple days, and in order to get to school I have to turn from my neighborhood onto a major road (major road = four lanes of traffic going 50 mph), and since it's from a neighborhood, there's no stop light, just us turning into unstopping traffic. So I get to the stop sign before the road and hit the brakes. And nothing happens. So then the brake pedal plummets and the anti-lock brakes kick in. STILL NOTHING IS HAPPENING. My car is slowly but surely skating into incoming traffic, which thankfully at the time consisted of two cars. The car finally came to a stop right before the right lane, and I made my turn. As I was starting to turn, the back of my car started to skid and I could see another line of traffic coming. Thankfully I was able to correct the car before it really started fishtailing and got to school with no other incidences. BUT THAT WAS STILL SCARY.

And apparently, the Detroit automakers are selling Saab and Hummer and possibly getting rid of Pontiac, Mercury and Saturn. I don't know why, but when I heard that I got all sad (except for Hummer, because they were the dumbest idea for a car I've ever heard). Even though I only like Saabs to begin with and it's not like I'm in any position to buy any of those cars. I don't even know what to think of the whole automaker-bailout idea, and I live here for deity's sake.

I finished The Well of Loneliness. It was really, really good, and really depressing. But mostly good.

So now I need another book to read for Pop Lit, and all the books I can think of are books that the library doesn't have or that I've already read. Suggestions, plz? What are some really good books that you all have read lately? (they don't have to be fiction.)