.....you should probably watch this video. It is hilarious.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
I'm a user!
A Netflix user that is!
During the "to get cable or not" decision-making process, I realized that how fantastically Netflix could solve all my problems. It's only $9 a month - not $45. I can stream from the internet. There are entire seasons of TV shows available. AMAZING.
I put off signing-up until my internet was fully functional, and yet I am already a believer. So far, I have watched season 3 of The Office (I got seasons 1 and 2 for my birthday and just couldn't stop!) and I have created a "Q" of movies that I want mailed to me.
Technically, I'm still in the "free trial" stage, but I will shortly be a full-fledged paying customer!
Also, I'm going home tomorrow! Britt Goes to Columbus!
Until tomorrow,
B
During the "to get cable or not" decision-making process, I realized that how fantastically Netflix could solve all my problems. It's only $9 a month - not $45. I can stream from the internet. There are entire seasons of TV shows available. AMAZING.
I put off signing-up until my internet was fully functional, and yet I am already a believer. So far, I have watched season 3 of The Office (I got seasons 1 and 2 for my birthday and just couldn't stop!) and I have created a "Q" of movies that I want mailed to me.
Technically, I'm still in the "free trial" stage, but I will shortly be a full-fledged paying customer!
Also, I'm going home tomorrow! Britt Goes to Columbus!
Until tomorrow,
B
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Nerd-Alert!
This past weekend when I made my journey to Cedar Point, I decided that I actually needed a book-on-tape and picked one up at the library. (I'm telling, they make drives sooo much better!)
The b-o-t that I checked out is called Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult who's most famous book is probably My Sister's Keeper. Without looking at the b-o-t, I checked it out from the Carnegie Library and planned to start it on my car trip. Bright and early Saturday morning, I opened the b-o-t case and discovered that there are SEVENTEEN CD's to the freaking thing. I then, for the first time, flipped over the case and discovered that the total run-time is TWENTY-ONE HOURS. Seriously! So on my 6-hour trip, I only got through 4 CDs. The bad thing is that the book is really good, like if it were a written book, I would be reading it constantly. It's not a written book, though, and I also haven't had to use my car at all this entire week. As a result, I have started listening to the b-o-t in my apartment. On my DVD player. All the time. It's kind of like I would imagine listening to the radio would have been before TV existed, except that TV does exist and there is not a single reason to actually listen to a b-o-t on a DVD player.
Countdown to my trip home: 2 days
Countdown to the start of medical school: 11 days
Where has summer gone?!
<3, Britt
The b-o-t that I checked out is called Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult who's most famous book is probably My Sister's Keeper. Without looking at the b-o-t, I checked it out from the Carnegie Library and planned to start it on my car trip. Bright and early Saturday morning, I opened the b-o-t case and discovered that there are SEVENTEEN CD's to the freaking thing. I then, for the first time, flipped over the case and discovered that the total run-time is TWENTY-ONE HOURS. Seriously! So on my 6-hour trip, I only got through 4 CDs. The bad thing is that the book is really good, like if it were a written book, I would be reading it constantly. It's not a written book, though, and I also haven't had to use my car at all this entire week. As a result, I have started listening to the b-o-t in my apartment. On my DVD player. All the time. It's kind of like I would imagine listening to the radio would have been before TV existed, except that TV does exist and there is not a single reason to actually listen to a b-o-t on a DVD player.
Countdown to my trip home: 2 days
Countdown to the start of medical school: 11 days
Where has summer gone?!
<3, Britt
Monday, July 26, 2010
Cedar Point/the Cleve
This weekend was spent at Cedar Point and in Cleveland and as a direct result was a huge success.
Before I get to that action though, let me say that my lab continues to be amazing. On Friday, at 2:00, we all went to this sports bar called Buffalo Blues and ate, drank, and played darts for over four hours. I'm actually not bad at darts which is extremely surprising considering that a large amount of aim is involved, and I'm generally not allowed to toss anything, ever. I capped off that evening with a walk around the neighborhood and some laundry.
On Saturday, things really started to get interesting. Here's something that baffles me. It takes me just over three hours to drive from my apartment in Pittsburgh to my house on OSU's campus. It took me just under three hours to get from my apartment in Pittsburgh to Cedar Point. Confusing? I definitely think so, yet magically I left my place in the 'burgh at 7:00 AM and arrived in Cedar Point's parking lot before 10.
Before I continue with tales of my day, let me give you some advice. Never drive into an amusement park by yourself. I was in the car alone because the rest of my party was en route from Columbus. I got some of the saddest looks ever. People's faces read. "Oh, that's sad. She came to Cedar Point by herself." When I pulled up to pay for parking, the girl who took my money leaned forward to look into my car, as if she was trying to determine if I had actually come alone. I wanted to say, "I'M MEETING PEOPLE!" but it didn't seem worth it.
When my Andrew and my roommates Darci and Amanda and Amanda's fiancé Eric and Eric's coworker Kevin (crazy group, huh?) arrived, I was waiting at the gates, trying to look engrossed in my map and avoid looks of pity from passers-by. The six of us moved through the park pretty efficiently. We hit all of the coasters that I was looking forward to - Millennium Force, Magnum, Raptor, and the new one, the Maverick. For those who haven't been to Cedar Point since the Maverick opened, I would strongly suggest riding it, even if you have to wait in line for an hour. Speaking of lines, I freely admit that I am somewhat annoying to wait with because if the line is long enough, I will make people play games. Even if they don't want to at first (which Darci didn't), my persistence is such that by the time fifteen minutes have gone by, they will give in (which Darci did!). We played the alphabet game: I'm going on a trip and I'm bringing aerosol hairspray, and Brittany, and carrots, and so on until you get to the letter z (zookeeper!). I loved every minute of it. Plus, I am a firm believer that game-playing makes the lines seem shorter.
The only major downside to Cedar Point was the heat. I'm not sure how hot it actually got, but the forecast was over 90, and it definitely felt that way. Halfway through the day, we escaped to Snoopyland to eat at the Joe Cool Cafe simply because it was indoors and (weakly) air-conditioned. While we were in the cafe, our waitress asked if we would be doing one big check or separate, and we responded, "separate." Andrew and I were just getting a pizza and splitting it though, and when the waitress came to us, he said, "Well, we're ACTUALLY together." (major emphasis on the actually, like "believe it or not but we're together"). He knows how to make me feel special! Our whole table got a pretty good laugh out of it.
Following Cedar Point, I made the hour and fifteen minute drive to Cleveland where I spent the rest of the weekend with my family and my good friend, Chris, who I met on a short term study abroad trip to London my freshman year and who also was a fellow OSU tour guide.
Now, I'm back in Pittsburgh with only two weeks to go until orientation. It's crazy how fast this summer has gone!
Until tomorrow,
Britt
Thursday, July 22, 2010
The 12 types of medical students
This is definitely worth sharing:
http://theunderweardrawer.homestead.com/twelvemedstudents.html
I would love to hear speculations on which one I'll be :-)
http://theunderweardrawer.homestead.com/twelvemedstudents.html
I would love to hear speculations on which one I'll be :-)
The world we live in
Two really incredible shifts happened this week that I'd like to share.
1) China has overtaken the US as the leading consumer of power. This seems scary to me.
2) There are now more electronic books sold on Amazon than actual cover-pages-cover books. This seems sad to me.
Personally, I think that both of those shifts speak volumes about the way in which our world is changing.
In local "Britt Goes to Pitt" news, my efforts to watch AFI's top 100 movies continue, and I can now cross Casablanca and Singing in the Rain off of my list. I'm trying to get a hold of the number one movie of all time, Citizen Kane, but it's checked out at the library.
I also will make a triumphant return to hot yoga tonight. To prep, I have been drinking water all day. Bring on the sweat!
Britt
1) China has overtaken the US as the leading consumer of power. This seems scary to me.
2) There are now more electronic books sold on Amazon than actual cover-pages-cover books. This seems sad to me.
Personally, I think that both of those shifts speak volumes about the way in which our world is changing.
In local "Britt Goes to Pitt" news, my efforts to watch AFI's top 100 movies continue, and I can now cross Casablanca and Singing in the Rain off of my list. I'm trying to get a hold of the number one movie of all time, Citizen Kane, but it's checked out at the library.
I also will make a triumphant return to hot yoga tonight. To prep, I have been drinking water all day. Bring on the sweat!
Britt
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Driving, driving, driving
So, this past weekend, I drove home and back. The drive only takes around 3 hours, which honestly isn't that bad. It's MUCH more tolerable if you have good music or a book on tape (b-o-t) to listen to. I had intended to check a b-o-t out from the library last week, but I completely forgot and I left my ipod in Pittsburgh, so I was stuck with the static of the radio between the Pittsburgh and Columbus stations. This left me some serious time to think about my drive. Here are my thoughts:
1. When the department of transportation workers make the exit signs that tells what's available at each stop, they're really really liberal with the word "attraction." For example, is the Southeastern Pennsylvannia Trolley Museum really attracting a significant number of guests? Are there people in the world who see that listed under the attractions section of a road sign and think, "MAN! I NEED to get off at that exit!"?
2. Whoever decides when to do road construction in the state of West Virginia should really consider a different career. Right before I got to Wheeling, I was forced to get off of I-70 and onto I-470 for a stretch of about 10 miles. Apparently, I-70 is under construction and is limited to local traffic only. Well, that's totally fine, BUT when I switched to I-470, it was shut down to one lane due to construction. To me, if you make one highway a detour for another highway, you should promptly start construction on both. If I'm going to sit in construction at all, why the heck did I change highways to do it?
3. "Pittsburgh highways must have been designed by a kid with Roller Coaster Tycoon" - my father. Truer words were never spoken.
Additionally, I have internet at my apartment! For those of you wondering "Gee Brittany, if you didn't have internet, how have you been posting at night?" I would like to plead the fifth. It was a huge ordeal to get it set up though. I opted, based partially on price and terrible reviews of Comcast, to go with Verizon as my internet provider. They send you everything you need to set up the internet, and then you do it yourself (meaning no $100 installation fee!) I got the box in the mail, and then waited until my installation day (July 19th) arrived. The set-up seemed really easy. It was along the lines of 1) plug in modem 2) connect modem to phone line 3) connect computer to modem. Once that was completed, the green "internet" was supposed to flash on the modem, meaning everything was correct. My green light did nothing. I tried multiple power outlets and phone line jacks. Still nothing. Frustrated, I called the number provided for tech support on my instructions. As a part of their calling prompts, I was asked to give the phone number of my account, so I keyed in my cell number. All of a sudden, this recording came on that says "As of July 1st, Verizon is no longer the internet provider of your service. Your provider is now Fronteir, and their number is 1-888-blah-blah." Then, the call was ended. The recording left me confused, but I figured I might as well try the other number. I got ahold of someone at Fronteir, and he asked which state I am in. I replie, "Pennsylvania." He answered, "We don't actually service your state through this call center, but I can transfer you." At this point, I was really getting angry, but I kept my cool during the transfer. Again, I was prompted to key in my phone number, and again I got the "you're-now-with-Fronteir-call-this-number" message, and the call ended. I called the Frontier number again, and explained what to operator number 2. He finally pieces everything together. Frontier did buy out Verizon internet in Ohio, which matches the area code of the phone number I was keying in. They did not but out Verizon in Pennsylvania. Right as he was going through this explanation, my green internet came on, all of its own free will. Not kidding.
Tonight I plan to craft and watch Casablanca - should be a good time :-)
Britt
1. When the department of transportation workers make the exit signs that tells what's available at each stop, they're really really liberal with the word "attraction." For example, is the Southeastern Pennsylvannia Trolley Museum really attracting a significant number of guests? Are there people in the world who see that listed under the attractions section of a road sign and think, "MAN! I NEED to get off at that exit!"?
2. Whoever decides when to do road construction in the state of West Virginia should really consider a different career. Right before I got to Wheeling, I was forced to get off of I-70 and onto I-470 for a stretch of about 10 miles. Apparently, I-70 is under construction and is limited to local traffic only. Well, that's totally fine, BUT when I switched to I-470, it was shut down to one lane due to construction. To me, if you make one highway a detour for another highway, you should promptly start construction on both. If I'm going to sit in construction at all, why the heck did I change highways to do it?
3. "Pittsburgh highways must have been designed by a kid with Roller Coaster Tycoon" - my father. Truer words were never spoken.
Additionally, I have internet at my apartment! For those of you wondering "Gee Brittany, if you didn't have internet, how have you been posting at night?" I would like to plead the fifth. It was a huge ordeal to get it set up though. I opted, based partially on price and terrible reviews of Comcast, to go with Verizon as my internet provider. They send you everything you need to set up the internet, and then you do it yourself (meaning no $100 installation fee!) I got the box in the mail, and then waited until my installation day (July 19th) arrived. The set-up seemed really easy. It was along the lines of 1) plug in modem 2) connect modem to phone line 3) connect computer to modem. Once that was completed, the green "internet" was supposed to flash on the modem, meaning everything was correct. My green light did nothing. I tried multiple power outlets and phone line jacks. Still nothing. Frustrated, I called the number provided for tech support on my instructions. As a part of their calling prompts, I was asked to give the phone number of my account, so I keyed in my cell number. All of a sudden, this recording came on that says "As of July 1st, Verizon is no longer the internet provider of your service. Your provider is now Fronteir, and their number is 1-888-blah-blah." Then, the call was ended. The recording left me confused, but I figured I might as well try the other number. I got ahold of someone at Fronteir, and he asked which state I am in. I replie, "Pennsylvania." He answered, "We don't actually service your state through this call center, but I can transfer you." At this point, I was really getting angry, but I kept my cool during the transfer. Again, I was prompted to key in my phone number, and again I got the "you're-now-with-Fronteir-call-this-number" message, and the call ended. I called the Frontier number again, and explained what to operator number 2. He finally pieces everything together. Frontier did buy out Verizon internet in Ohio, which matches the area code of the phone number I was keying in. They did not but out Verizon in Pennsylvania. Right as he was going through this explanation, my green internet came on, all of its own free will. Not kidding.
Tonight I plan to craft and watch Casablanca - should be a good time :-)
Britt
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