Where was I? Oh, right. I was telling the story of how I ended up with a Lady GaGa song on my iPod. If you've ever seen or heard Lady GaGa, you're probably aware that she's... eccentric. At first I just thought she was a lunatic, but I have to say, she's growing on me. At first her little idiosyncrasies (i.e. dressing like she's auditioning for Cirque du Soleil) are a tad off-putting, but then you just kind of wave them off as GaGa being GaGa. You even start to admire her for being so in-your-face. That's exactly the problem. You can't dislike Lady GaGa. Just when you think she's the craziest pop star in history (including Britney in her shaved-head-take-a-baseball-bat-to-your-car phase), you hear one of her songs and you're hypnotized. She slowly melts away your ambivalence with her catchy choruses and peppy dance beats. I'm pretty sure there's some kind of brain-washing involved. All I know is that I was happily apathetic towards Lady GaGa until my mom and I watched her perform on SNL (yeah, that's right- I spend my Saturday nights watching TV with my mom. Jealous?) and the next thing I knew, my mom was saying, "I kinda like her," and downloading "Paparazzi." Suddenly it's GaGa mania, and "Paparazzi" is on repeat in the car and you're singing along and strangers are looking at you funny at stop lights and it won't get out of your head! You're in your bed trying to fall asleep, and all you can think is, "I'm your biggest fan, I'll follow you until you love me, papa-, paparazzi." (Yes, you read that correctly. It's a stalker song. And a catchy one at that. And the music video has one of those hot vampire guys from 'True Blood.' Gotta love it.) Screw the Swine Flu; Lady GaGa's the one you need to watch out for this winter. She is much more contagious. Once you catch yourself singing "Poker Face" in the shower, you're done. That's all you're gonna be singing for the next six to nine weeks. And anyone who comes in contact with you will surely be exposed. There is no known cure for GaGa-itis. But is that such a bad thing? In conclusion: You go, GaGa. (I mean, really. Who doesn't love a good alliteration?)
Speaking of ecstasy... I overheard an extremely entertaining conversation between two young male students today in the library. I couldn't make out its entirety because I was trying to simultaneously eavesdrop and do my Spanish reading, but the phrases I did overhear sounded like a word bank for Frat Boy Mad Libs: "Banquet of beer," "walked by buck naked," "threw up purple stuff all over the shower," and "hid in the bushes." (Note: I am not making this up.) I wanted to ask exactly how one achieves purple vomit, but I felt like that might be bending the rules of social etiquette. Ah, to be young and uninhibited by self-respect and gag reflexes.