Cheap Bastard Mixology

I came home the other night after a long day and my new roommate was on the couch drinking a 40 of Old E, which is my brand of choice. I had a lovely trader joes salad that i was going to eat so i opted for wine instead. but then sitting there waiting for America's Next Top Model to come on, i was like 'damn. that looks good. i want that instead."
and he said, "you could have both?"
and i said "together?"
and he said "yeah. you should drink them both at the same time."
and i said "i will if you will"
and he said "ok" (thinking that i was not serious and that it wasn't physically possible)
but oh, OH was he wrong. I grabbed two straws and and a 40 (ok, really it was a 24oz, but whatever) and the dare was ON.

we were shocked. SHOCKED i tell you.
somehow it was the best of both worlds. i'm a cheap bastard these days so it was crappy wine, and i dare say the combination improved both of them.

so RUN, dont walk, to your local corner store and live it up!

ANTM

Just so we're clear, I can count the number of episodes of America's Next Top Model that I've ever seen on one hand. Tonight I saw maybe the last 20 minutes of the season premiere and am hoping someone else here saw it too. When the judges were critiquing the very striking Anchal, were they for real in deferring to the comments of Nigel Barker because "we're both Indian"? His bio on the website says he was born in London and educated in the English countryside, and mentions that "his background...brings a unique sensitivity to the relationships he forms with his subjects," but that's all. If you were Anchal, would you be offended at Nigel's giving you modeling advice from a fellow Indian's perspective, seeing as how he is a) a man and b) white? I know there are some ANTM experts in the crowd so please come forward!

It's not just that I lost, it's that she won.

Yesterday I received an official rejection from a clerkship that I had allowed myself to really, really want. I already knew that I was not going to be chosen, as the window for a positive outcome had passed, but the rejection letter was the final nail, as it were. This clerkship was a long shot, and I perhaps should not have raised my hopes, but once I was chosen for an interview, I started to think, "maybe, just maybe, I can get this." Naturally, I am disappointed.

Worse, though, than being rejected, is that I have firsthand knowledge (via eavesdropping) that a person I truly detest was choses for one of these coveted clerkships. She is the kind of person that is a "close aquaintance" -- I have shared pitchers of beer with her in a small group. Yet, everytime I see her, she obviously and purposely ignores me. She is the sort of girl I disliked and distrusted in high school, and apparently whose high-school-like personality outlasts the Danceline trophies.

While the sting of rejection has already begun to fade, I am left with a bad taste in my mouth. I am not so concerned with bad things happening to good people. I think that is inevitable. What I find so infuriating is when good things happen to bad people -- more specifically, I do not understand how smart people in respectable positions can be tricked into thinking that snide, stupid, immature, and unkind people are the best choice for a job/clerkship/relationship. I have seen several instances of this phenomenon throughout the years, but this time it has really hit home.

Call me petty or jealous. Maybe that's part of it. But, it's also something more than that. It's a fundamental disappointment that even the brightest and most respectable people can be fooled into choosing bad people for good things.

Of course, one boy in my high school "Theory of Knowledge" class said that bad things only happen to bad people. Maybe I am bad for not sending best wishes to my secret nemesis. But I didn't think that kid in high school was right back then and I don't think he's right now. Bad things happen to good people. And more often than I like, good things happen to bad people.

A question re: Fancy Jeans...

So I've had this pair of Citizens jeans for maybe a year and a half. I love them, they are perfect for any occasion... which is good because they're also the any pair I like. Anyway, I bought them on ebay for something like $80, retail value, maybe $140... they developed a hole in the crotch, I sent them off to aforementioned jean-fixers in New York... and I just learned that I'll be $65 to fix them. $53 for repair, $12 for shipping. This is an irksome figure for a few reasons: a) that's a lot of money and almost as much as I paid for them. b) It only cost me $5.20 to send them to New York.
So, the question is whether I, a) pay $65 and get them back. b) try to find another pair on ebay, risking not finding as good a pair and then, do I pay the $12 to get the old ones back, even though they're unwearable... or do I let them go? This may not be a problem boys understand, but I'm hoping the ladies will...
Also note, I am a student again and living on loans....

Thank you.