Thursday Thirteen: I *Heart* New Paint; Marx and iTunes, Not So Much

Today is Thursday, right?

1. Things are looking up with the apartment.
2. One of the maintenance guys spent four whole days here taking care of most of the items on my complaint list.
3. Never underestimate the power of a coat of paint. I instantly liked my apartment so much more after the kitchen and living room were repainted.
4. My bedroom is still a ghastly shade of seafoam, but the paint was clean and uncracked, so I didn't feel like I could really complain.
5. My landlord still doesn't grasp the idea that if you do a job right the first time, you don't have to repair it as often. For example, he absolutely refuses to use primer. Even though using primer would mean having to use fewer coats of paint, which would mean that the paint is less likely to flake off in six months. Whatever.
6. As for the neighbors, well . . . I got some earplugs. I don't love having to wear them; they make sleeping on my side a little uncomfortable and make my ears a little sore. But I have been able to sleep through the night.
7. Marx. Smart man, but very longwinded. And confusing as heck. The Manifesto of the Communist Party isn't too bad---short and mostly readable---I give the credit to Engels for that. Because Das Kapital? That's just painful. For about 10 pages, Marx goes on and on and on and on about exchange values and how if 10 yards of linen equals the value of 1 coat, then 2 coats are worth 20 yards of linen and so on and so forth and OMG, please don't make me ever read Marx again. I felt better about not understanding Marx's critique of Hegel when the professor said that she couldn't lecture on Hegel because she didn't understand it.
8. Fortunately, most of my other reading is more accessible and more interesting. I'm actually enjoying Malinowski's Argonauts of the Western Pacific.
9. Yesterday, I went to a lecture on the relationship between biodiversity and poverty in Uganda.
10. I really like being in grad school. I may stay in school forever.
11. Last week, I finally got a project assistant position. For 13 hours of work per week, I get my tuition paid, health care, and a monthly stipend! I can't even tell you how thrilled I am. The position itself is interesting---it's an event planning thing---and funding in my department is seriously scarce. So I'm so lucky to get this.
12. For the first time, I'm one of the older folks in a group. Since high school, I've almost always been the youngest in my social and work circles. Most of my friends are older than me, and most of my coworkers have been, too. But I'm on the upper end of the age spectrum in my cohort (first-year grad students in cultural anthropology). It's a strange feeling. Particularly because I really don't feel my age (or look it or act it!).
13. The new iTunes 7 "upgrade" royally sucks. I really only use iTunes for downloading television shows---and really only for Project Runway (and thank goodness Vincent finally got the boot; nobody tell me about last night---I haven't seen it yet!). So it is really annoying that everytime I go to the television section, the program shuts down. And the help section on the iTunes Web site? Could not be less helpful.