|
|
Here's Another Nice Mess You've Gotten Me Into...
|
|
|
| So sorry... |
[27 Jul 2007|06:10pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 apathetic |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Goo Goo Dolls - Iris |
] |
Need to update more...so sorry.
So my jefe at work wanted to come into work a bit earlier than usual today so as to videotape an interview for the university. All right, thinks I, I'll go to bed at a reasonable hour and get up at nine and be happy-jumpy from the good night's sleep, but I didn't for PERFECTLY LEGITIMATE REASONS.
When I got to work I was immediately sent to set up the camera and make a fool of myself trying to greet the subject of the interview in Spanish without stuttering. But that's ok, because I could understand what he was saying. Then I stood behind a camera for an hour while the head of Student Life asked a Spanish graduate of the campus from fifteen years ago how his career had worked out, what he had used and what he hadn't from his classes, and what he would recommend to those who would follow him. It was incredibly boring, and I felt sorry for the people who would watch the video after me.
I had some trouble with the video near the very end where it kept skipping for some reason, but it was easy enough to fix. Then I went to class, where we learned about Yeats and his doomed love. We read two poems from when he was young and in love and then old and feeling bitter about having once been young and in love yet not taken seriously. He was a bit emo in the last one, though only in the last couplet.
During the ten minute break the professor always gives us, I went and bought a minibag of Ruffles, like I have the last three days. I go without potato chips for four months and suddenly I eat a bag a day four days in a row. I should be ashamed, ashamed I say! Ashamed while I totally ignore how I'm going to eat SO MUCH PIZZA when I get home.
Speaking of which, I really wish I had my own apartment. I'm looking forward to going back to Salt Lake to catch up with everyone and see my family and my pets and everything, but I wish it was more of a visit than going home. I'm itching to be independent. I don't like the limbo of being a college student: away from parental supervision but not parental finances. My parents have ingrained responsibility into me well; I can't help but feel like I'm spending my dad's money every time I think about doing something a bit financially risky. Invest, you fools, inveeeest. Make your money work for yooooooou.
These dreams of independence are not mature dreams, however. When I think "apartment" I'm still thinking "full bedroom with big kitchen and a balcony," instead of being more realistic and going with, "hole in the wall with half-bathroom." At least for a single apartment, which is what I want, but lately it's been dawning on me that a roommate or two or three wouldn't be as bad as I like to think it would be, especially with the bigger apartment the pooled money could afford. Slowly, slowly, I may be making my way into reality.
Today it is very hot, and I feel tired. Tomorrow I think I may go out and take a nap on a bench somewhere around this time of day in the shade. I may, however, be going to a church activity where the barrio is heading for the cool shelter of the mountains. Going would severely cut into my usual Saturday sleep schedule, but I'm going to Utah on Wednesday, and I will be thrust into the earth before I get a job for only weeks, which means-sleeping in every day! I can sacrifice a single Saturday in expectation of many wonderful sleeping in days to come.
|
|
| ...erm. |
[24 Jun 2007|11:25pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 scared |
] |
You know those saved search drop-down toolbars? On DevArt I began to enter something starting with "F", and it suggested "fetch the water."
I don't know either.
|
|
| Run away! Dihydrogen monoxide is falling from the sky! |
[14 Jun 2007|10:04pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 silly |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Sandstorm |
] |
Iiiiiiiiiit rained today. Which was fun, because it's been ages and ages since I've been able to walk through a rainstorm w/o worrying about missing a boat! (long story)
Today was pretty boring at work because there was nothing for me to do. However, I was told that on July 21 I am getting a free trip to Granada courtesy of the university! My entire department (all three of us) is going there to cover the music festival they hold there and that several students from the university participate in. So cross off "Granada" from "Places Everyone Needs to Go Within Spain or They Can't Have Truly Lived." That leaves the Basque Country, Pamplona, and the Pyrenees. I am moving up in the world.
I had been considering going there as my super special summer trip, since Edinburgh is so danged expensive at the moment, but now that it has been taken care of for me, I'm thinking Lisbon. Sweet Lisbon with all its funny phonetics. I walked into the foyer of the apartment building a couple of days ago just behind another tenant, and she asked me if I was going to use the elevator in the thickest Portuguese accent ever. It sounded really cool in hindsight, but at the time I was all thinking, "Darn it! What obscure Spanish words are these crazy Spaniards using now?!"
Pride moment: I have been asked for directions twice in the last week, thus implying that I must somewhat look like a native madrileño. I even knew what they were talking about the second time! Mwahaha!
Complaint moment: My señora is a bit insane. She hounds me about how much food I eat in the morning, because apparently it worries her a lot that I don't eat two slices of bread every morning. I am missing my lemon cream-filled pastry I ate every day on the cruise, ok?
Weird moment: Yesterday one of the people in the Student Life department interrupted one of my "stories" to warn the person I was talking to not to get sucked into the warped world I live in. It seems she's overheard me several times while I was buying lunch at the Tienda Verde entangling those poor employees in my web of lies. I have been discovered. Time to switch campuses. I'm thinking Japan.
Because SLU:M actually has a "study abroad" program with a university in Osaka! After my mission, I may go there for a semester or a year, who knows. Seriously would be more fun than a barrel of monkeys, though! They probably even have mechanical barrels of monkeys over there.
I have clean socks now in case you were wondering.
I'm so going to Retiro tomorrow. I was going to go yesterday but my shoulder was hurting that day, so I couldn't. Today it was raining and only a fool wants to get lost in the Retiro during a rainstorm: that place has swallowed better men than I. Tomorrow it is, then, even if it's raining, thus entirely ignoring my earlier statement!
It really bothers me when I think of a really great story for some random comment five minutes after I could have used it.
I claim to love the Metro here in Madrid, but I haven't ridden it a single time since I got back from the airport. Shame. Shame!
It was actually quite scary: when I got back from Greece I was trying to use my metro ticket and the machine kept spitting it out. No matter, thought I, for I have three metro tickets, relics of my family's time here! But all thee were rejected. Terrible. As it so happens, ever since they extended the line to both terminals, they've charged an extra few to enter and exit the Metro to and from the airport. Vultures. Vultures! So I had to buy a special ticket.
And the Metro stop at T4 sucks to boot.
But enough of that!
|
|
| Why...so...hard...to...type... |
[13 Jun 2007|11:17pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 exhausted |
] |
So today started out with me walking up from weird dreams with an achy shoulder.
It is now ending with my being inexplicably tired. I don't know why.
But I broke down and bought three bars of chocolate today, so the day wasn't a total loss.
I'm so tired I may make it to bed by 12 instead of 1 tonight. Good.
Random Observation of the Day:
I grow three inches every time the wind blows due to flyaway hair.
|
|
| I have no clean socks... |
[12 Jun 2007|12:55pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 mellow |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
The sounds of millions of bits going to and fro... |
] |
That's right. They're in the washer because María (mi señora for the time being) did the whites first instead of the darks. I have bet and lost, my friends, bet and lost.
Things I Have Learned While Walking To AND From School:
1. Never space out and unconsciously walk so close behind someone that they begin to look over their shoulder in a "Crazy stalker person!" manner. There is no graceful way out.
2. Never walk directly behind anyone. Always stand off to one side. If not, you will space out and begin mirroring their arm and leg movements and you will look like a mini-military parade.
3. In relation to #2, always stand off to the side more than two or three steps behind, or else you will look like you are accompanying them when you are not.
4. Large groups of slow people attract. This is why when you are in a hurry they are always blocking both lanes of sidewalk traffic.
5. Time moves faster walking to work than from work. This is why you always start getting nervous that you've missed the turn again because "I should have been there by now."
6. Loud music on your iPod always plays during the quiet stretches of the road while quiet music always plays on the loud stretches. (Example: E Nomine on Avda. del Valle, and MoTab on Cuatro Caminos)
7. It is not cool to have both hands free while walking. One hand should always be occupied in some way, such as carrying a book, talking on a cellphone, holding a strap on a backpack or purse, etc.
8. However, it is NOT usual for men to carry their backpacks hanging from one shoulder.
9. Only people with children or over the age of 50 may wait for the crossing light. All others must cross at the first opportunity.
10. Bus drivers are on an active campaign to kill as many people with their sideview mirrors as possible.
11. Your hair, but nobody else's, will react to wind in embarrassing ways.
12. The only thing that can save you from a taxi cab is full body armor encased in rubber.
13. Motor scooters don't care that the sidewalk is for pedestrians.
14. The sun always shines directly on your side of the street.
15. Street lights mean nothing on a roundabout.
I think I may have been playing Scotland the Brave a bit too loud on my stereo with the window open last night. *cringe*
|
|
| Back in Black! |
[06 Jun 2007|11:53am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 cheerful |
] |
Here I am, using free Internet once more! Let us all dance, sing, and generally cavort madly, for all that was lost has been found.
Except for every file and program on my laptop.
I managed to get a virus a few weeks ago that was taking up 17 GBs of my hard drive, and in my panic-induced madness at not being to download anything anymore, I ran a system restore without backing up everything. What does this mean?
3 GB of music: Gone
2 semesters of school papers: Deleted
Approx. 70 programs (including Photoshop and Windows Office): Desaparecidos.
Now I am working my way through many many ghost files looking for the ones I want to snatch back from the light.
The best part? The virus is still there. I hate it. I hate it with every bone of my body.
So, yeah.
The cruise was awesome! I have to admit the first few stops were pretty boring though, so small picturesque towns completely overrun by tourism with minimal historic interest. They'd probably be a lot of fun for someone looking to stay a few days and just relax, but now for people coming in on a whirlwind tour for a few hours.
However, four stops stood out: Pompei, Troy, Istanbul, Athens.
Pompei: Volcanoes and plaster molds of people in their death throes. Can it get any cooler?
Troy: Have you ever seen nine cities stacked on top of one another? It's not nearly as impressive as it sounds, but it makes for one interesting story. The best part were the millions upon millions of Turkish schoolchildren all screaming Hello! Hello! at every tourist. I felt like hiding in a tree, there were so many of them.
Istanbul: So awesome. So cool. Could you imagine living in a city located on two continents? I want to, now. But I would have to learn Turkish, and that would be an interesting experience the likes of which I may have to spend many years meditating in a cave before attempting. (random insight into Daniel's brain-first attempt at the word "cave" resulted in "vace") Our tourguide's name, Chigdem, translated to Crocus. There were so many churches and mosques, but even more billboards.
Athens: Athens is ruled by feral cats and dogs. They are everywhere, in the streets, in the restaurants, in the souviner shops. The cats are sneaky, waiting in the shadows and darting from table to table in the restaurants while also furtively keeping a lookout for the inevitable waiter. Tne dogs lie down in front of the food stores.
So fun. And the cruise ship had excellent food, which necesitated the use of the treadmill for many, many hours. Per week, that is.
Wow, I am tired. And hungry. And I have two small apples. Not really, but I wish I had two small apples, for that would be conducive to a wholesome atmosphere. I would put them on the top of the computer monitor.
|
|
| Update: |
[24 May 2007|10:17pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 chipper |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Something by Elvis. |
] |
I went to Pompeii today, and that is one awesome dead city. The only thing that could have made it better would have been a touch more of the plaster models of the people writhing in agony as they died. Lots of sunshiny fun there, I tell ya.
In all seriousness, it was very interesting, especially because the tour guide gave us all our personal radios so we didn't have to be within twelve inches of him to hear what he was saying. Big improvement.
Tomorrow we go to see Stromboli.How does Italy survive having so many volcanoes?
|
|
| Quick update... |
[21 May 2007|11:15pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 bouncy |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Whatever the caberet guy is singing because Wifi doesn't reach to the room. |
] |
Internet on cruise ships is fatal. It costs about fifty cents per minute, so I do not have much time. We have so far gone to a little village called St. Tropez in France. We're headed for Italy. The food is delicious, but I keep getting hunger pangs at 10:00 PM due to Spanish influence. Mom calls it the Spanish hunger. It may stick.
The ship is amazing.
Time is up.
|
|
| Vacation...ahhhhhhhh! |
[18 May 2007|05:29pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 content |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Kingdom Hearts II - Lazy Afternoons |
] |
Sooooo, my family arrived safely from the airport on Saturday and we went to the hotel and checked in and I went and retrieved my stuff from my apartment and all was fine and dandy until I discovered that, for reasons unknown, my laptop was refusing to recognize the hotel's wireless or the hotel's wireless was refusing to recognize my laptop. So either way, I couldn't update not a thing. But that's ok.
So-
Saturday: Picked up everyone from the airport, Mom, Dad, and Carey. Carey was KO'ed by the nine hour flight and claimed the room for sleep, so Mom, Dad, and I went out to look for something to eat and to explore the city. I showed the Puerta del Sol since the hotel was practically right next to it, and we walked down to the Royal Theater and then to the Royal Palace. There were people tangoing for money. It was pretty sweet. Then we went to the Cathedral of the Almudena, and onwards back to the hotel to find if Carey wanted dinner. She didn't so Mom, Dad, and I went off to find dinner on our own, and we found a restaurant that was almost completely abandoned, and for good reason. The food wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good either.
Sunday: Went to my ward with my parents so they could see it and meet the Chaneys (Bishop Chaney and his wife are the vice dean and the director of admissions, respectively, for the Madrid campus of SLU). As luck would have it, two filipinos who spoke better English than Spanish were speaking that day, so Mom and Dad weren't totally in the dark, plus they had barely transferred in an Italian missionary. Dad, being amazing, speaks German and Italian, so he had someone to talk to as well. Bishop Chaney had neglected to tell me that I was being called as a ward missionary that day, which was a nice surprise as it was the one day my parents could be there. We left as I was set apart, and then we went back to the hotel to change and pick up Carey so we could vamoose up to El Escorial before it closed at six. We hightailed it for Atocha, but the train schedule was weird and didn't let us know that the train we were waiting for didn't run on Sundays, so train after train after train went by and my family were all like, "Buh?" and I was all like, «¿Eh?» But we figured it all out and managed to get on a train that would get us there in time for us to have an hour to explore it. After we were done with the tour, we discovered Rodilla, which I've seen many, many times before but have never tried. Rodilla is a Spanish fast food place where you can buy croquettes and sandwiches and ice cream, and it's actually pretty good. Then we went back to the train station and went back to Atocha.
Monday: On Monday we had decided to go to the Reina Sofía and the Royal Palace because they're the only major things open on Mondays (everything else is generally open on Sundays and uses Monday as a rest day), but Mom didn't sleep well and she isn't interested in modern art anyway so we went without her. Carey and I had great fun in making fun of the ridiculous modern art, the ones where it's a canvas painted entirely blue or something of the like. There's some art there, especially the ones by Dalí, that I like, but some of it really is just ridiculous.
Tuesday: Mom didn't sleep well again, but Tuesday was the day we had decided to go to the Prado, and she wasn't about to miss that. So up and out we went and spent four hours there. I was pretty grumpy for almost the whole time because everyone was asking me non-stop questions about Spain, and it annoyed me. In addition, the constant walk-stop-walk-stop motion of looking at art threw something off kilter and my back was hurting pretty badly by the end because no museum I have ever been in has ever heard of the concept of benches with backrests. But that's ok.
Wednesday: Wednesday Dad woke us up early so we could go to Atocha, pick up tickets for Avant and go to Toledo. However, somehow the day before he managed to set his watch an hour back, so what he thought was 8:15 was really 9:15, the time we had planned to leave. Luckily Carey asked for the time from me and we discovered the error in time to get there. We went to the Big Three Tourist Traps of Toledo, namely the Alcázar, the cathedral, and the old synagogues as well as many, many shops in-between. The trip was unusual for me in that I did not purchase a sword while I was there. Hmm. Have to remedy that the next time.
Thursday: Last full day with everyone. We grabbed a two-hour train from Atocha to Segovia. Also went to the Big Three of Segovia: the Roman aqueduct, the cathedral (there's always a cathedral to see in Spain) and the Alcázar. Very nice, and Carey got to buy a butterfly hair...thing. The clippy dealies. Oh well.
Today: Today we had to say goodbye to dear Carey. We went to the airport and got her tickets and then left her in an hour-long line through security, which I thought was odd because I had never seen a line that long ever in Barajas Airport. But then we passed the security checkpoint I usually used and it was near deserted, so I went and dragged Carey down to it. Huzzah! Zero minute wait. Told you so, Carey! Anyway, then Mom, Dad, and I had to drag all our stuff from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 only to discover our gate was actually in Terminal 3. So we basically walked the entire length of the airport. Then our airplane was delayed a half-hour, so they handed out worthless 25% discount cards that must be used in the next 60 days or something. Don't fly Spanair.
We arrived in Barcelona without incident, got a taxi without incident, and got to our hotel without incident. Then we discovered our travel agent had made a mistake and booked two rooms for us on May 12 rather than May 18. So that was fun, because Dad had looked for a hotel six weeks ago and was lucky to find the place, so it would be practically impossible to do so now. However, the hotel was kind enough to work a miracle and found us a hotel three minutes' walk away which had just had a cancellation for the same number of rooms, which was awesome. It's called the Casa Camper, and it is a modern hotel complete with electronic blinds and recycled toilet water. We have two room across the hall from one another, one an actual bedroom and the other a sitting room which has...a hammock. So I will be sleeping in a hammock, which is a circumstance quite un-looked for yet quite appealing. My misgivings of Barcelona have been shaken, but have not yet disappeared.
The best part, though, is the wireless obviously works with my computer, so here I am merrily typing away and catching up with the world at large. Huzzah!
|
|
| Last DAY!!!!!!!1 |
[11 May 2007|06:52pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 contemplative |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Tori Amos - Happy Workers |
] |
Well now, today was the very last day of the semester, which means everyone was saying their final(?) goodbyes before going home to terminate the packing process. I had two more finals today, but of which I think I did ok on. Not stupendous, at least on one of them because I forgot to study for one verb form, but ok. I think I passed. [insert shifty eyes into the skull-now]
After the last exam, which was for Spanish Written Communication, also known as OH SO BORING PLEASE MOVE FASTER TIME class, I hit a potential snag in the whole process which was supposed to unfold over the weekend. I was supposed to finish my exam, go home, finish packing all that I can fit into the two bags I have, take them to school, go home, sleep, wake up, shower, go to the airport, pick up Mom, Dad, and Carey, acquire the extra bag Carey is bringing for me, take it back to the apartment, pack the rest of my stuff along with enough clothes for three days, go back to the hotel, and then return to the university on Monday to repack everything, putting everything I'm sending home in the extra bag.
However, the university informed me that once put in storage (a necessity because all my stuff put together probably weighs somewhere around 150 kilos and I can't take THAT on a cruise) nobody may enter the storage room except to extract their luggage on the day they have signed up for. Boom. Wrench in the cogs. So I'll have to leave my bags here tomorrow morning, pick up everyone at the airport, and somehow hope to be able to come back and take all three of my bags out of the apartment before noon when they start fining me. VERY BAD FOR BUSINESS.
Sooooo basically it will be a tight race. All the tighter because I can't e-mail my family about the change in plans because I think they're already on the plane-unless they're not and they see this message, in which case-WE MUST HURRY WITH ALL SPEED TOMORROW AT THE AIRPORT. PLEASE INFORM THE CAPTAIN OF YOUR PLANE.
I also forgot to tell them that they're probably going to arrive at T4, which is about three and a half miles long and very hard to navigate through.
Now, tonight, I must finish packing as much as I can pack, ask Maite to take care of Libby, and think of a proper way to send Evan off-he's leaving tonight right after dinner, the poor man. Off to Amsterdam, and then FREAKIN' OFF TO TANZANIA. He's going there to volunteer in a hospital. Lucky man. And he gets to take bucket showers the entire time! Not fair. And here I am stuck going on a cruise with my parents to Athens. Not fair.
Today Evan and I went to Sol for lunch and then to the Retiro for a long walk. Summer has already arrived it seems, and I totally forgot that next week is the feast day for San Isidro, Madrid's patron saint, so all the stops have been pulled. They've built a stage in the middle of the Estanque, which is the Retiro's main lake. Pretty awesome. Mom, Dad, and Carey really picked the right week to come, it'll be beyond awesome. The only thing that could have been better is if the 15th had been on a Monday instead of Tuesday, because everything is usually closed on Mondays. Oh well.
It's already getting too hot to wear my hat. Curses.
Everyone's going home. It's very sad.
|
|
| Just ignore the last entry. |
[10 May 2007|01:00pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 uncomfortable |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Shimomura Youka - Friends in My Heart |
] |
Sooooooooo...a few months since the last update? Hoo-yeah!
And what have I been doing with all that extra time I have saved by not staying in contact with everyone? Absolutely nothing more than I would have been doing otherwise! Go me!
Apologies all around. This semester has been a bit...difficult, suffice to say, academically and personally, and I kinda reacted by withdrawing from everyone and everything, which, in hindsight, was a pretty stupid thing to do. It won't happen again, that's for sure.
News!
I am staying in Spain over the summer, probably until August, possibly until Christmas. Non-stop, that is-I may fly home for three weeks in August only to return for the fall semester, which is funfunfun. Before that, though, Mom, Dad, and Carey are coming here on Saturday! They'll be here in Madrid for a week, then Carey flies home because her eeeeeevil job won't allow any more vacation time. Mis padres y yo will then fly to Barcelona, where we shall board a ship set for Athens. It is a little rubber dinghy boat, and we shall fight off mutated sharks with lions growing out of their heads the whole way as we paddle with road signs in Catalan stolen from Barcelona just before we leave. It shall be a blast.
In actuality, it is a cruise ship, and I shall leave the shark fighting to the crew. I will be too busy resting and having fun in the amenities provided, which probably means a LOT of karaoke. Mwahaha!
But first I must get through two more final exams, move out, and figure out whether or not I remembered to do everything I was supposed to do, which I think I did because I can't remember forgetting anything.
So, yeah. Going to try to update a lot more often. I have a Facebook now as well, so hopefully that will serve to keep me from withdrawing from the social circle again. n.n
|
|
| ... |
[10 May 2007|12:18pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 giggly |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Piano Concerto #2 |
] |
Ha. Mwa ha. Mwa ha ha. Mwa ha ha ha. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
|
|
| Hm. |
[02 Apr 2007|07:33pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
giggly |
] |
Hee hee...ha.
Ha ha...hee.
Ha ha ha.
Hee hee hee.
Mwa.
Mwa haa.
Mwa ha ha ha.
Mwahahahahahahaha.
MWAHA.
MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
MWA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAA!
|
|
| I LIIIIIIIVE! |
[01 Feb 2007|08:21pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 dorky |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
...does this apply? |
] |
Yes, it's been forever since I updated. Suffice to say that I'm very busy and trying hard not to ignore the alarm clock every morning. BUT-I will say this-my semester schedule is such that I now consider nine hours of sleep far too little.
^______________________________^
And now, a musical meme! Which I refuse to cut!
RULES!
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, Amarok, whichever you want, the list is long.)
2. Put it shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie.
SOUNDTRACK TO MY LIFE!
1. Opening Credits: Don't Look Back in Anger by Oasis
- Not bad...but it's not exactly a good sign.
2. Waking Up: Signs by Creed
- Sadly enough, this song is a good approximation of the ordeal I go through every morning when I decide whether or not to listen to my alarm clock.
3. First Day At School: Simple and Clean (Ending Theme) by Utada Hikaru
- ...I...don't know what to make of this one. The first day was sad? Ah, I'm starting at a new school and having to break away from my life at the last one. *nod*
4. Falling In Love: There Is A Balm in Gilead by the Moses Hogan Chorale
- I hope falling in love has this effect.
5. Fight Song: I Have Confidence by Julie Andrews (from the soundtrack of "Sound of Music")
- . . .
That's great! XD
6. Breaking Up: Zero to Hero by the Muses (Soundtrack of "Hercules")
- It was a really bad relationship. XDDD
7. Prom: Dancing Queen by ABBA
- I kid you not. I like my soundtrack!
8. Life: The Joker/Everything I Own by Jason Mraz (from the soundtrack of "Happy Feet")
- I shall be happy. Wow, the opening credits sure threw me off!
9. Mental Breakdown: Green Bird by Yoko Kanno (from "Cowboy Bebop")
- Eerily accurate. I'm falling...falling...out of...a...church window...aw, crap, I'm insane.
10. Driving Far Away: Stella's Song by Yoko Kanno
- It's a sad parting, and were not sure whether we'll ever see each other again...
11. Flashback: Livin' la Vida Loca by Eddie Murphey and Antonio Banderas
- I swear, Mom and Dad, I don't go drinking. I swear.
12. Wedding: It's Only a Paper Moon by Natalie Cole
- I'll be so devoted reality will fade when I'm away from her? Huzzah!
13. Birth of Child: Eva's Final Broadcast by Madonna
- This does not bode well.
14. Final Battle: Popular by the cast of "Wicked"
- Ok, now it's just nonsensical. How to interpret this...I shall be climbing the social ladder, which everyone knows is just a popularity contest. Or perhaps I'm running for public office against the root of all evil? Hmm...
15. Death Scene: Rest in Pieces by Saliva
- Huzzah! Excellent death song! But it does imply I'll be stabbed in the back by someone I love. Perhaps my opponent corrupted a family member?
16. Funeral Song: He Mele no Lilo from "Lilo and Stitch"
- I shall be buried at sea to joyous hula dancing. Buh?
17. End Credits: I Try by Macy Gray
I seem to remember doing this before. Oh well.
ALSO: New userpic. It is a photo of the Earth as Mars' evening star. It is the first and currently only photo of Earth from the surface of another planet. You, too, can have this photo by clicking here.
- It's true, I never like to leave things be. Oh well, it's over now.
|
|
| School days...with twist of sweet, sweet lemon! |
[15 Jan 2007|05:11pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 quixotic |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Greenday - When September Ends |
] |
Today was the first day of classes, and I found out just how sweet my schedule is. On Mondays and Wednesday I don't have class until 13:00, and on on Tuesdays and Thursdays I don't have it until 11:00, which means I get to sleep in until 10 every day! This may change once I finalize my work study schedule because I need to fit in ten hours without having any on Friday, so I may have to start working at 10:00 on some days, necessitating a wake-up call at 9:00, which is still über-awesome compared to last semester. The trade-off is some very late nights thanks to my dancing class, but the late morning wake-up calls mean that won't be much of a problem.
Today was, however, the final blow to my vacation. This morning I was getting ready to go to class and going, "Aw, but I liked being far away in another country without having to do anything..." but I had four days of doing nothing, which were preceded by three weeks of doing nothing, so it's time to get moving again.
But that stupid inertia!
I bought my books today, a total of $173. My astronomy book is shiny and new and expensive, but I understand my friends and family are facing far worse bills, so I am content. I love my Arabic teacher because he only bought one book and then photocopied it, greatly reducing the cost. Smart man. He's also a published poet and singer, I should mention. He does everything, I tells ya!
I have as yet made no mention of my new roommates. Both of them are brand-new to the Madrid campus, although they both go to the home campus back in Missouri. One is named Marco and he's of Italian heritage and hails from the Philadelphia area. Does anyone know that Philadelphia is in Pennsylvania anymore? I didn't know that until my early teens for some reason and is still not empirical knowledge in my brain, meaning that I have to consciously go, "Now, what state is Philadelphia in? That's right, Pennsylvania..." It's probably because both names are ridiculously long. No one wants to spell both "Philadelphia" and "Pennsylvania" in the same sentence. I know I don't.
Anyway, back to Marco. He's in his...second year, I think? He's majoring in some such and is interested in Psychology (I really did ask him what his major is and he did tell me, but please remember that I've been operating on either 15 hours or 3 hours of sleep and have not been what one would call "conscious" since I arrived here) and he strikes me as a major nerd, which is ok because I strike him as a major nerd so we're even. He speaks moderate amounts of Spanish. He is balding and weighs more than me, so I'm not the fat one anymore (refer to the skinny-as-a-beanpole Conrad and athletically fit Max). Marco is occupying the room on the other side of the apartment which has the private bathroom.
The other new roommate is named Evan. He is from Louisville, Kentucky (which I did not have to consciously remember). He is 20 years old and also majoring in some such, but a different kind of some such. He asserts that all the normal people in Kentucky are in Louisville and the rest are rednecks. He is thin and short and was on a 5,000 calorie/day diet last summer which caused him to gain ten pounds for medicinal purposes, weight that he has since lost. He had minimal Spanish skills and is taking beginner college courses in the language in a sort of break from his usual classes back at the main campus. He is rooming in the room next to mine and we share a bathroom. He has very few toiletry supplies that I have seen. It is possible he maintains them in his room. He assured me that it would be nigh impossible for me to bother him with the music from my new iPod speakers, a feat that I have not yet asked how he accomplished.
Evan and I tend to have more to say to one another than Marco and I.
I found a bottle of shaving cream in my room that I think was left by Max because the instructions are in English and French. I have purloined it for my exclusive yes and am hoping that the first thing Max says when I see him is not, "Hey, did I leave anything at the house?" Then I would have to give him his shaving cream, but more importantly I would have to give him his mail, which has proved most entertaining and will be most sorrowful to give up.
I'm kidding about reading it, but there is a letter for him that was on my desk when I arrived that I have since pressed into service as a bookmark. It may be many moons before it finds its way into Max's possession. I am fairly certain it is not a official letter.
I have been proving the existence of my addictive personality lately by chewing pieces of gum nonstop under the pretext that I am after that "just brushed, clean feeling," but I am really just after the sugar.
Liliana (Maite's cleaning lady) put one of those dissolving tablets in the toilet tank in my bathroom. At first it turned the water blue, but then it turned a deep forest green which looks extremely thick.
I know that that is a lovely topic to end on, but this stream of consciousness just entered the dry season.
|
|
| Restarting after vacations... |
[10 Jan 2007|04:52pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 exanimate |
] |
Hello, and welcome back to Spain after about 22 hours on the move-to put it in context, I had just arrived at the apartment and put the key in the keyhole when my alarm clock started going off in my bag, marking off the full 24 hours since I had woken up the previous day. I have only slept for about four hours since then, but I feel amazingly chipper.
I had an interesting flight plan. Salt Lake to Denver to Washington, DC to Frankfurt to Madrid, switching planes at each stop. On the way from Denver, we were passing over some town in Indiana (according to the map TV display thingy) when I looked out the window and saw a blinking light move at incredible speed across the city below us. It was either an extremely swift low-flying airplane or a UFO. I could see another commercial aircraft at the same altitude as us and it was moving about as slow as one would expect, while the blinking light was all whoosh! Zoom! And out of sight! It disappeared behind us. It was probably an airplane, but the speed was unusual.
Heehee! I spelled "incidents" like this just now: "incidencies." Fear my loopiness!
On the way from Washington to Frankfurt, the guy next to me struck up a conversation. He was going to the United Arab Emirates on business, his wife is Taiwanese and taught their daughter Mandarin. The daughter now speaks accentless Mandarin and English. Lucky. I should have asked for his name. He lives in Boulder, and I could have dropped in unannounced or something.
Frankfurt's airport is laid out really weird. I didn't have to pick up my luggage and go through customs, thank goodness, but they did stamp my passport and send me into a maze of half-renovated hallways with promises of cheese at the end. I eventually find my way to the World's Shortest Pilotless Train because apparently people are too lazy to walk a hundred feet and require a train. At least Madrid's airport train goes underground and take eight minutes to get to it's destination. Frankfurt's didn't take more than forty-five seconds, tops.
However, I did love listening to the German. It sounded really cool.
Then I happened to meet a classmate from SLU who was on the very same flight as me. When we arrived in Madrid we shared a cab, which cut the cost considerably.
The sad thing is, it took that long, 22 hours, to read through one and a half of the Scientific American magazines I brought along. It wasn't continuous, mind you, but I thought that was very odd.
I am so tired right now, so I am going to do something that doesn't take energy. I refuse to sleep until midnight so that my internal clock will be on local time again.
|
|
| I have to at least chronicle my last day... |
[16 Dec 2006|12:19am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
exanimate |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Strauss - Beautiful Blue Danube |
] |
Today didn't start out so hot.
I was woken up by my shoulder acting up again, which threatened the success of the whole day because it was my last chance to pick up my student card (which I had MOST UNWISELY delayed to today due to studying and partying and goofing off and MAKE ME STOP I'M BEING TOO HONEST) and I had to do some last minute Christmas shopping (for who, you ask? Who indeed...*stares at Mom and Carey*) and I was not looking forward to waiting in line at the police station for two and half hours PLUS the time on the Metro PLUS the walking around with an aching shoulder. So I postponed my plans by one hour to give the ibuprofen time to work, which I was somewhat skeptical about because it didn't work so well last time without tons of pillows to relieve all weight off the joint (luckily it was during the weekend).
Thank the heavens, the ibuprofen worked like a charm this time and I was able to go and get my card and do my shopping with none of the constant shifting and "hey-look-I'm-pretending-to-stretch-in-order-to-temporarily-relieve-the-pain-even-though-stretching-is-extremely-bad-manners-in-Spain" poses. Go ibuprofen! You are so totally worth the liver damage.
The line for getting various cards doesn't move, by the way. At least, it moves so slowly that your mind goes numb and suddenly two hours have gone by and you're being ushered in by the police guard-but then when you're inside and there's only ten or fifteen people in the line, it still doesn't move until suddenly you're the third person in line and the bureaucrat is dispatching people every thirty seconds, making one wonder why the line was so slow in the first place.
Then I went to Puerta del Sol for the last time this year-which turned out to be a good thing because they'd removed most of the construction that had marred it this whole semester. I bought my gifts from a certain well-known Spanish artificer before heading back to the apartment to finish up packing which I oh-so-virtuously started the night before in order to avoid and unsightly last-minute packing frenzy.
After packing, I had to do laundry which I had not meant to leave to the last minute, but as it turns out, that's a good thing. I had planned on leaving my dirty laundry in the closet until next semester, but since I've done it today it means I'm actually able to bring the remaining laundry home because there's so little. Go unlooked-for thingies!
However, on arrival to the laundromat (the ONLY laundromat in all of Madrid) I discovered they were still indulging in their siesta, so I camped out at a nearby Internet café to wait for them to open, which they soon did. I amused myself with my laptop and iPod while waiting for the laundry, which took slightly longer than usual for some reason before trudging home.
I was supposed to be going to a party with some friends, and I thought we were meeting at 6:30 and driving out to the suburbs, but unfortunately it was really at 6:15 and I missed them, which was EXTREMELY STUPID OF ME. However, this also worked out because I'd forgotten that Maite and Ricardo don't get up before nine or so and I'd've had to go before giving them their Christmas presents. This occurred to me as I was trudging home, so I stopped by the supermercado and bought some ice cream for desert tonight (since we never have ice cream) as well as treats for the airplane ride and for those who forget to eat breakfast tomorrow morning.
When I got home Max convinced me to order a pizza with him because he only had enough loose change for a medium pizza and he wanted a large because he hadn't eaten all day and he wasn't going to be here for dinner because he was going out with friends. So we ordered a large pizza (of which I ate only two slices in preparation for dinner) and had our last "dinner conversation." Max and Conrad have opted to live elsewhere next semester due to independence issue (for Max) and the availability of housing with a brother (for Conrad) so I will have two brand-new roommates next semester. Conrad went home to New Jersey yesterday (two days ago now) I leave tomorrow morning (now this morning) and Max will stay in Madrid in a hotel for the next few days before flying home to France.
Afterwards Max left to meet up with his friends and I finalized packing and goofed off on the Internet because I was super tired for some reason. Then, just before dinner, I have Maite and Ricardo the pillow Mom and I picked out before I fly out and marzipan and turrón that I had bought for them in Toledo, which is their favorite treats. Then I ate dinner and I said goodbye to Maite and Ricardo because they won't be up when I leave around 8 for the university and the ride they're providing to the airport. Then I get to check-in, go through security, and sit around (hopefully with WiFi) until my flight leaves at noon and arrives in Chicago at 2:25 (Only a "two-hour" flight...) and then I get to wait around some more until my flight to Salt Lake leaves at 5:30 and arrives at 8:15.
Huzzah. Now I get to go to bed for what little sleep is allotted to me this night.
I'm so sad to be leaving! I know I'm coming back in three weeks but I LOVE IT HERE. If I had a place to stay and the funds to do so...well, next school year.
I also refuse to leave my laptop and iPod in my check-in baggage this time. Tons of people told me that they were able to use them on the way over, so I am DETERMINED to use mine. I will, of course, check with the check-in desk, but they had BETTER SAY YES.
Anyway. See you at home, everyone.
|
|
| ¡¡¡IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!! |
[12 Dec 2006|11:19am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 ecstatic |
] |
Shout out to the folks back home before I go eat breakfast and go to my first final (Spanish Oral):
Heidi...is...ENGAGED.
To a guy named Burk, who may or may not be Australian-but regardless she's ALSO going to Australia in July, so I guess he'd better be!
I HAVE FALLEN OVER AND CANNOT GET UP. So unexpected but SO AWESOME yet so unexpected yet SO AWESOME.
So yeah, big news! Thought the WHOLE INTERNET should know.
|
|
| FINALS REFER TO THE END OF TIME. |
[09 Dec 2006|09:27pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 hopeful |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Strauss - The Beautiful Blue Danube |
] |
I was sufficiently excited for Christmas AND sufficiently catatonic from the approaching doom of finals that I changed the colors on my journal. Huzzah for bad color coordination on my part!
Anyway, yesterday my Arabic class went to an Iraqi restaurant in honor of the ending of the term. The food was delicious, but it reminded me of Mom's taco salad for some reason. I didn't get to eat very much because to save on costs we ordered a sort of buffet-style thing that had little bite-sized morsals. I would have preferred for everyone to have gotten their own entree and then shared, but that's ok. I had a very nice conversation with one of my classmates, who I believe spells her name as Sherrie, but I may be wrong. We may go and see the Nutcracker next Thursday because I want to see it here AND back home, because I'm funny that way. Also, Kayla said my trench coat makes me look scary. Go trench coat!
Today I went and bought some supplies for finals week, namely an eight-pack of Fanta and lots and lots of healthy orange-flavored wafer cookies to keep me from suddenly running away and citing malnutrition as the cause. The exam I'm most worried about is Arabic, of course, but thankfully it's the exam I have the most time to study for since it's on Thursday. But I have THREE exams on Tuesday, which is never, ever a good thing. THREE. Both my Spanish tests and English. My head will feel as if it had been wrung out by nigh-on incomprehensibly large towel...wringers...things. Wow, I have absolutely no idea what those things are called.
On the plus side, I get to sleep in virtually every day next week, which can only be regarded as sweet. Not very much, mind you, because I still have work study. This is probably also a good thing because it guarantees I will be out of bed and studying the whole day instead of cowering in my bed wishing for some sort of alien to enter into a symbiosis with me so that I am granted unparalleled knowledge in exchange with the alien living in my brain. This, unfortunately, has been demoted to "Back-up Plan," but sometimes I don't remember that right after I wake up.
Yes.
I have been wondering just how on Earth I'm going to bring all the Christmas stuff I've bought back home. I've been considering having it mailed, but postage (as well as EVERYTHING ELSE [except medical treatment]) is really expensive here. It's kinda scary. Postage aside, Maite told me the other day (in one of her fits when my shower went a minute over limit) that the electric bill is routinely above €200. I told her the mafia must be to blame. She didn't think that was funny.
I can't wait to come home (and then come back). I want to see SNOW, REAL SNOW, because, seriously, some of the trees have yet to change color. I should have studied Basque, Galicia and the Basque Country apparently have had tons of moisture lately, but not even the sierra near Madrid have gotten any snow and hence, no skiing. Going skiing in high on my priorities list when I get home. Taking a warm hate this time if also high on the priorities, as I do not want to be rolling around in real, unfeigned utter agony as my ears thaw. That HURT last time, I'm not kidding. It felt like they were above a fire.
I also plan to go sledding and ice skating. I have recently found out that there is a skating rink at the Eiffel Tower which I feel most determined to attend since I will not have to worry so much about budgeting for presents next semester. Even if it's really expensive, it'll be totally worth it.
But before any of this happens, I must survive finals. Spanish Oral has had an unfortunate experience/blessing in disguise, because I lost my textbook that had the many dozens of vocabs words I need to memorize for a seven-minute monologue during the exam. However, since I bought a new one and will have to refill them out, I'll be better able to remember them because I'll be writing them as well as reading them! This helps so much, you have no idea. But it still is a pain to have to do some five or six chapters of vocab all over again. I wish I hadn't lost my first one, though, it had a lot of notes in it besides the vocab...bah.
MAÑANA: Church and then lots and lots of studying!
LUNES: Sleeping in an hour and then work study and then lots and lots of studying!
MARTES: Sleeping in and then EXAMS OF DOOM and then swinging by the local bakery for palos de nata to drown my woes in creamy goodness! And more studying.
MIÉRCOLES: Sleeping in, work study EXAM OF DOOM (for Theology), more palos de nata and-more studying!
JUEVES: Sleeping in, final work study, final EXAM OF DOOM (for Arabic) and celebration in the streets as soon as finals are over! Celebration will include palos de nata AND those funny little egg yolk candies!
VIERNES: SLEEPING IN. Then packingpackingpacking until I have struck a balance between clothing I need for home vs. presents I need for family, as well as jettisoning unneeded baggage and stowaways (that means YOU, Blacky!)
SÁBADO: Flying home! For many, many hours from Madrid to Chicago and Chicago to Salt Lake. The saddest part? Southwest is far more comfortable than Iberia. Sob.
I also plan (if there is time) to revisit some of my favorite places in Madrid-namely El Retiro, the Plaza Mayor, and Sol. I need to buy a few more things for Christmas before coming home...
Let me see, I think that's all on the front.
Well, except for the POWs, but they'll have to earn their keep.
|
|
| Ugh! I GIVE UP. |
[02 Dec 2006|01:23am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 groggy |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Kare Kano - Yume no Naka e |
] |
I've been meaning to post more photos of Morocco, I promise, but now I have come to the conclusion that if you ever want to see them, you'll have to go to the source because there's FREAKIN' FOUR HUNDRED OF THEM.
So:
http://s91.photobucket.com/albums/k293/spaininrain/
Go and see, the ones from Morocco are all the ones labeled Day One, Day Two, and so on. No descriptions and not all of them are uploaded yet, but better than waiting around for me to pry myself away from studying interspersed with blessed escapes to Youtube and Wikipedia every so often and then back to the grindstone.
Tomorrow, however, I throw all to the wind. Max and I are going to find a LAN center and later I'm going out for churros. QUE TE VAYAS LEJOS DE MÍ, TAREA.
Mary, you got me hooked on Regina Spektor. Thanks a lot. >.<
On the plus side, CHRISTMAS SHOPPING IS DONE-OUTSIDE OF MADRID. There remains many many things to buy here, but no more dashing out of the city and worrying about train time tables and suchness. I am so glad for this, you have no idea.
Budgeting season is almost done. Soon I shall be able to spend like no tomorrow-in a constructive fashion, I assure you. Heh.
Oh, and the dance recital was excellent and cool, but there was no ice cream at the bar during intermission. That made me very sad. And for some reason only my Chinese friends were there, and they kept talking in Chinese leaving me making mental notes to secretly learn Mandarin to SPY ON THEIR CONVERSATION IN ORDER TO OBTAIN JUICY DETAILS OF SOME TYPE.
I'm really looking forward to my drawing class next semester, and I'm considering adding on an evening dance class-you know what, not thinking, going to. MWAHAHA. I shall rule the world with my coordinated floor stomping flamenco! It shall be like unto a sweet siren song luring the audience to the rocky shoals of thorough auditory delight. BUT THERE SHALL BE NO ICE CREAM DURING INTERMISSION. ALL SHALL LOVE ME AND DESPAIR!
En una semana muy corta son los exámenes finales del año, ¡y no quiero hacerlos!
My goal next semester is to not eat or drink nor buy a single commodity in order to gain the elegant grace and sophisticated canter of the felinas sylvestres, correctly spelled as felis silvestris catus! They are quite capable of starving themselves, and so shall I! Mwahaha! But, lo, a ray of light into this dark supposition: that's a pretty stupid idea.
UPDATE idea SET status = "abandoned"
I truly think kitty ears on the top of everyone's head would be the single greatest improvement of the human body possible in the miracle of bioengineering. I was reading about kitty ears earlier-they have 64 muscles PER EAR that can rotate them independent of each other to hear noises from the side and behind, to show mood, and to look absolutely adorable. Cats also have extremely loose skin in order to move quickly in attack and defense which helps the ear be able to rotate. This loose skin, coincidentally, makes it much easier to make injections via needles, which would be a great improvement on our present skin, let me tell YOU.
Cats can have as many as 7 toes per foot, and it is impossible to clone a cat that looks exactly like the original because the genes that determine coat color freely move during the gestation period. The average litter size is 3-5, with the first litter of the mother usually significantly smaller than those that follow.
I probably should have gone to bed after the link. Oh well.
Why YEEEEEES, my headphones are on the verge of dissolving in a brilliant flash of decomposing molecules, resulting in a bright flash as most of the bonds probably decay as exothermic reactions! But, lo! If they were naturally exothermic, would they hold at all? My good person, not at all! Most reactions need energy in order to be raised into an activated complex, after which the energy liberated in the reaction overtakes the energy put in!
I shall be sad to see them go. They have been so helpful-and they were so easy to hide under my hair when it was long. How useful that would have been in so many situations beyond counting...
SOOOOOO, Sally can wait, she knows it's too late as we're walking on byyyyyyyyy...
Bum dum dum...
But don't look back in anger, I heard you saaaaay!
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
|
|
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
spaininrain's journal