where wombats wander with weeping willows

Facebook

2011-12-14T10:16:00.000-08:00

I know a lot of people complain about Facebook, and a lot of people are happy to have it around because it lets people keep in touch easier. I've never been one of the former, always a bit more of the latter, but lately I've started to feel differently.

Facebook is cheapening relationships. People feel like they have a lot of friends and actively keep in touch with them, but even for the people that you do actually send a message or write a wall post, the quality of a Facebook-maintained relationship is so much worse than one kept up through phone calls, letter, and chats in person. For the people I might have entirely lost touch with otherwise, Facebook is a great convenience. I love seeing how everyone is doing, even if we don't actually chat. But for those I would have otherwise called or written, Facebook is detrimental. I end up just saying hi or something of little significance (because it's on a wall) rather than communicating and building a deeper relationship.

I know I'm not the first one who's said something like this, but it's how I feel, so I'm writing it anyway.

Facebook is meant to bring us together, but in the end, it alienates us.

J'irai en France!

2011-04-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

It was a hard decision, and for a long time I was going back and forth between staying at UCLA to continue my Ph.D. studies directly after my Master's, and going to France. But last weekend, I decided: I'm going to France. And thus, my newest adventure begins!

Almost 3 weeks ago, I was accepted to the 2011-2012 TAPIF program to be an assistant English teacher in the Lorraine region, and I e-mailed them my acceptance last Friday. I don't know yet exactly where I'll be or what age group I will be teaching, but I'll keep you posted as I find out.

Since my French skills are pretty rusty at the moment, this could be a hard transition, but I think it will be a good move for me. I can improve my French and learn a lot more about French culture. I'm hoping to find some traditional French cooking classes while I'm there, and maybe I can also resume teaching myself guitar or practicing violin. But most of all, I want to travel in my free time! Right now I have quite a few friends in Europe--in London, Sweden, Austria, Italy, and all over Germany--so I'm hoping I'll have time to visit all of them and see a few places I missed when I traveled around Europe before, like Lake Bled in Slovenia, Warsaw, St. Petersburg, maybe Morocco... and I really want to re-visit Britain. I've also heard there's a Couchsurfing community among the TAPIF participants, so it would be cool to meet up with them in various parts of France and show others around my area, too.

But there is a lot I need to take care of before I can start planning any of that. I still have my Master's exams to get through. *Sigh*

Talk soon!

Ronda

Next Year

2011-02-05T23:30:00.000-08:00

I need to organize my thoughts about next year a bit. If anybody does read this, which I doubt since I don't think I've updated in two years, feel free to comment with your opinions, insights, or suggestions. I'd love some input!

1. Stay in LA and
a. finish my TESFL certificate at UCLA
b. continue studying and pursue a PhD at UCLA
c. find a job

2. Move to Seattle and find a job

3. Move to France and teach English

4. Move to Germany and attempt to find a job

5. Teach English in South Korea

6. Peace Corps

Arguments for and against the options:

1a. I've already completed some courses toward the TESFL certificate. I should be able to finish by the end of Fall Quarter. After that though, I would probably have to find a job, and I doubt I could get funding for this anyway, so this option might be too expensive.

1b. I have no idea where the department is headed, and I also don't know that getting a PhD is worth it for me. There aren't many professorships opening up, so I don't think it would really benefit my career. If I get a PhD, I would have to be willing to accept that it might just be for my own enrichment. It seems like too much time and effort to commit to something like that, when there are so many other things I want to do that seem more fulfilling.

1c. Living costs are so high here, it seems silly to stay without a job lined up. On the other hand, I'm really tired of moving and would like to stay another year or so. But I think I would only stay if my roommates both decided to stay in this apartment, because as I said, I don't want to move again.

2. I really miss home and my friends and family. It will have been three years since I've lived there once I graduate. But there isn't really anything I want to do there right now. I just want to be with my family.

3. I already applied to the TAPIF program and will hear back from them in April. This would be great because I could improve my French and would also be close to Germany.

4. Working in Germany would be wonderful, but I haven't found any programs for foreign teaching aids like Japan and France have. I'm not sure I could really find a job.

5. My friend knows a guy who hires teachers to work in Seoul, so it sounds like I could pretty easily get a job teaching English there. I loved Seoul when I visited it with Kyla, and I'd definitely be interested in getting to know it and its culture better. Since Kevin and Lindsay are planning to teach in Asia next year too, it would also be as good of a time to go as any! We could visit each other like we did in Germany!

6. As I've said before on this blog, I've always wanted to join the Peace Corps. Somehow though, two years seems like a long time to commit at this point, although I feel more free to do this than I have in a long time.

Thoughts?

25 Random Things

2009-02-01T07:07:00.001-08:00

1. Sea turtles are my favorite animals. When I was in 7th or 8th grade, I wanted to become a marine biologist and travel the oceans recording the lives of green sea turtles. I changed my mind after taking biology in high school.

2. I've always had an interest in languages, and my dad had a large English--French/Spanish/German/Yiddish/Italian dictionary. I would pore over it for hours trying to learn whatever language struck my fancy. I especially tried to learn French, but when I shared my aspirations with some French speaking adults, they shot my dreams down pretty quickly, explaining that I couldn't learn pronunciation or grammar from a dictionary. I was 8 or 9 years old at that time.

3. People always ask me why I study German; the real answer is that in middle school, French and Spanish conflicted with my schedule, so German was my only option.

4. I have taken courses in German, French, Italian, and Japanese. Oh, and I had some Chinese lessons in China and a few casual Tagalog lessons. However, German is the only foreign language I can speak with any degree of fluency.

5. When I began studying at UW, I intended to major in Civil and Environmental Engineering.

6. I was a peer minister for Wesley Club, a United Methodist student organization, at UW for almost a year.

7. I used to change my name periodically. It started in preschool when I tried to get my teacher to call me Glinda. She wouldn't do it though. In first grade I successfully changed my name to Elizabeth, and when I got tired of that in second grade, I changed it to Violet. In third grade I decided to accept my given name, but for many years afterward people would ask me what my real name is. They thought that one of the names I had given myself in my primary days was my actual name.

8. My Chinese name is Luo Xing, based on the sound of my name and the Chinese word for star, which is my middle name.

9. I like my mom's high school class ring better than my own, which is lucky for me, because my own class ring was stolen from my jewelry box when my parents' house was broken into.

10. My cabinmates in Junior High Camp at Redwood Christian Park voted me "most likely to keep in touch," because I spent part of my free time each day writing postcards to my friends. I love writing letters and postcards, and I hate losing touch with people. I am just now starting to accept that I can't keep in touch with everybody I want to keep in touch with--even with Facebook. Sadness.

11. My brother, Rodney David, who is 9 years older than me, was named after me. One of my earliest memories is him racing around the living room, pushing me around in figure eights in my stroller, with me squealing and giggling hysterically.

12. Many of my best childhood memories involve church. My dear friend Rachael used to play the piano downstairs as I would dance around the room pretending to be a ballerina... we would write notes to each other during the service and hide from our parents after church so we could play longer and then beg them to let us play together at one of our houses. If one of our parents took both of us home from a church event, we would stay very quiet so the parent would forget about the extra kid, and then we would try to convince the parent that it made more sense to let us play than to just drive back immediately. Actually, many of my best childhood memories involve Rachael.

13. I have an overactive imagination. I once created an imaginary friend: an orphan named Lydia who lived in the gully near my house. I persuaded my dear friend that Lydia was real and we spent a few afternoons searching for her among the ferns in the gully.

14. When I was even younger (about 3), my imaginary friends were Mickey, Minnie, and Miss Piggy. One day, on the way to my babysitter's house, I realized that we'd forgotten Miss Piggy at home and insisted that we turn around to get her. I don't remember for sure if my mom actually turned around... I have a feeling she actually didn't, but I seem to remember that she did.

15. I bit my brother once. He had captured me for some reason, and I yelled at him that he'd better let me go or else. He ignored me, so I said he'd better let go, or I'd bite him! He still didn't let go, so I bit him. I immediately burst out in tears. Although I don't think I'd bit him hard enough to hurt him, I had bit him hard enough to yank my front tooth out. I think that was the first tooth I lost. I was shocked and in pain. I never bit anyone again.

16. I listen to the same songs, watch the same movies, and read the same books over and over again. I like the feeling of knowing what is going to come next when it comes to entertainment.

17. I worked at Big Fish Games for six months as a German Customer Service Representative with one of my best friends, Kevin. Sometimes an especially benevolent customer would send us Sachertorte from Vienna.

18. I play the violin, but I haven't played it much in recent years.

19. I love musicals. If I could have any job in the world (and if I had the talent for it), I would want to star in musicals.

20. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, even though I don't especially like Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, or stuffing.

21. In eighth grade, one of my best friends, Lindsay, and I took a long bus ride to the mall to search for Halloween costumes on a stormy day. I hadn't told my parents where I was going, and we got back kind of late. Since it was a stormy day and somewhat dangerous out, they were pretty worried about me. That was the only time in my life I have ever been grounded, and I was grounded for Halloween, making the whole excursion pointless. I was doubly disappointed because I'd planned for that to be my last year trick-or-treating.

22. I have chipped two teeth. The first was chipped by a bouncy ball in 4th grade, and the second was chipped by the bottom of a swimming pool at Disneyworld in my freshman year of college.

23. You know how little girls often choose a Disney princess? Mine was Sleeping Beauty, but I think I'm actually more like Belle. I like to read, and I want adventure in the great wide somewhere.

24. I sometimes fear that I will never be truly happy anywhere, because pieces of my heart are spread throughout the world.

25. My dad spent about 10 years of his childhood in Pakistan. I think that the reason I have always felt an affinity for jalebi. I love Indian food.

Handsome vs. Rich

2009-01-28T02:30:00.000-08:00

In my two conversation classes for first year students, today's topic was:
"Which is more important to you, good looks or money?"

The classes were split pretty evenly; most students had a difficult time choosing.

When I asked for volunteers to share what their partners said, the responses were along these lines:

"My partner is K. Her most important thing is money. Because, money is the most important thing all over the world," said the first volunteer, M.
"Oh, and why is it the most important thing?" I asked.
Oohs and aahs filled the room, though I am not sure why.
"With money, I can find love," K answered.

Wait, what??

"Ah, I see, so you think money is important for finding love."
K nodded.
"Thank you! Anybody else want to share?"
K raised her hand.
"Yes, thank you, K. Go ahead."
"My partner is M. Her important thing--She thinks that good looks are most important. Because if her boyfriend has good looks, she can love him."

Hmm.

Progress

2009-01-27T17:13:00.000-08:00

Ok, let's check up on how I'm doing on the New Year's resolutions so far.

Blog:
As you can see, I was off to a slow start, but things are picking up quickly. Looking good in the blogging department.

Interact with students:
Also off to a slow start, but I do think there have been improvements. One student I struck up a conversation with at the end of last year came by the teachers' office to chat for quite a while; still attending English Club and Tea Ceremony Club; after the last recitation of a day (Did I tell you I spend my whole lunch and 45 minutes after classes testing how well students memorized a speech? Yep, that's right. I get to listen to the same speech 10 times a day and starve in the process.), the student I was testing hung around to chat for about half an hour, and the conversation was quite stimulating--about life as a foreigner in Japan, and life in the USA and Korea, since the student was Korean; ate lunch with some students today (I only had one lunch test today, and now they're over! Hurray! Except for the make-up tests.), which I loved! I wish I could eat lunch with students more... but as I said, I'm usually occupied during my lunch hour.

Study Japanese:
Umm... no progress here. In fact, I have been studying less than last year.

Travel:
Success! In January I went to Tokyo for a 3-day weekend and Hiroshima for a normal one. Good times!

Write:
I have been writing more, but it has been mostly e-mails, letters, and blog entries. I want to work on writing more fiction as well, but I guess I have been doing more writing in general, so that's good. One of my mini resolutions in this category was to write a letter each week to someone who wasn't expecting one, and while I have at least done that with email, I haven't been sitting down to write actual letters as much as I meant to . Gotta work on that, too.

Pray more:
Haven't done so well on this one. :(

Daily News:
I started strong and was reading the news every day for the first week, but now I am slacking... I only read the news two or three times a week.

Hmm... Actually, it might be nice to check up on myself once a month or so, so I'm going to add a couple more resolutions that didn't make my first list.

Exercise:
Oh, look. Haven't really done any.

Cooking:
Finally, another success! I am continuing to cook for myself and trying to learn how to make new dishes. I'm still not a very good cook, but at least I can make a wider variety of things, and it's all been palatable so far.

Sleep:
Still going to bed too late, although a couple nights ago I went to bed around 9 and slept until 7... It was amazing.

A desirable husband

2009-01-27T03:24:00.000-08:00

Setting:

Today at English Club after school. We are playing a game in which you move around the board and talk about the topic you land on. If you land on a "free question" square, that means everyone gets to ask you a question and you answer it. Student A has landed on "free question" and is almost done with her round of questions. Now it is T-sensei's turn to ask.

Dialogue:

T-sensei: Which would you prefer: a very rich man who is very mean--not nice at all, or a very kind man who is poor?

Student A: (immediately) Rich-i!

Other students: (giggle)

T-sensei: Really?

Student A: (nods, looking pleased)

Ronda: (shocked)

Analysis:

The strange thing is, I really shouldn't have been shocked, because I have heard this from my students before; I probably should be more surprised if a student answered "Kind-o!" to a question like that. Thinking back on it, I don't know whether I wonder at her values or admire her honesty more. At home, I think even if someone thought they would prefer a mean rich man, they might say they would prefer a poor nice one to seem less superficial. However... I can't understand how someone would prefer a mean man to a nice one, no matter how much money he had! How could someone consider a mean man a desirable husband?

Some of the male JETs have told me that they often get hit on by married women and it is common for married people to date. Why do people here often think like my student does? Do attitudes like that of my 16-year-old student cause this phenomenon? Or has my 16-year-old student observed that marriage provides only financial stability and that people often turn elsewhere for emotional bonds, making kindness an unnecessary quality in a prospective husband?

Is her attitude a result of the phenomenon or a cause of it?

Gasp!

2009-01-25T04:49:00.000-08:00

You are not imagining it: I am writing twice within a single week. My plan is to keep this up and revive this old blog of mine. Let's see how it goes.

So... let's start with a quick re-cap, since the last time I really updated you on my life was before I went to China a year and a half ago.

The WorldTeach trip to China was definitely an eye opening experience. China was nothing like I'd expected, although I am not quite sure what I'd expected. Some things that surprised me were spitting indoors, yelling any- and everywhere, bluntness, the intense familial duty, extreme generosity, abundance of fruit, and the overwhelming sense of national pride. We had very few days off, and usually our days off were filled with activities, so I always felt exhausted and on the verge of sickness.

Then came senior year. It went by way too fast. For the first quarter, I lived with my buddy Carolyn in an apartment near the university with three other girls and loved it. Everyone was great, and it was a very convenient place to live. We would often cook or bake treats for each other and enjoy movie nights together. Good times were had, but at the end of fall quarter I moved in with my brother's family.

Spent Christmas in Germany with Thomas. Possibly the most beautiful Christmas of my life.

While in Germany, I applied for and did a phone interview for a job at a casual gaming company as a German CSR, so when I returned, I had another interview and started the job within a week or two. Of course, I was still going to school, so I only worked about 25 hours a week. I was pretty busy then between work and writing my thesis, but it was kind of nice. I can be lazy sometimes, but I also enjoy feeling busy and having a lot to do. I also took advantage of student and youth discounts as frequently as possible to go to ballets, musicals, and theater performances. I really miss those now.

I decided to make winter quarter my last, although I officially graduated in June. I worked full time in the spring but work kept me really busy! I quit my job at the end of June because I was going to leave for Japan at the end of July, and Thomas visited me for the month before I left, so I decided just to enjoy my time with my family and friends before I left for the year.

And now here I am, in Japan!

Soon you can expect an update about my parents' Christmas visit to Osaka and my January excursions to Tokyo and Hiroshima. You will also have the chance to read about more mundane details of my life before too long. Enjoy!

Re-contracting

2009-01-23T09:20:00.000-08:00

One of my New Year's resolutions is to post on my blog regularly again. Although I am getting a late start, it is a resolution I am going to keep.

As you probably already know or at least gathered from my last post, I am now teaching English in a northern suburb of Osaka, Japan. I arrived at the end of July, and my teaching contract ends exactly a year from my date of arrival. Now I am struggling to make a decision about my immediate future: should I re-contract for another year, or should I move on?

It took me a long time to adjust to life in Japan, but now I am really enjoying my time here. I think a second year would be better than the first, since I wouldn't have to spend the first 4 months adjusting to life in an unfamiliar culture--yes, it took me four months; I finally really felt at ease toward the end of November. There is also a lot I want to do in Japan that I know I won't be able to accomplish by August: learn conversational Japanese, travel a lot in Japan and neighboring countries, build strong lasting ties in my local community in Japan, and just learn more about Japan in general. A year really is too short. If I stay another year, it is also likely that more of my friends from home would be able to visit me, which I think would be beneficial and fun for all involved. I also don't want to leave all of the wonderful people here. However, in spite of all I've said, I can't convince myself that staying is the right choice for me. In fact, right now I suspect it isn't.

I think one of the reasons it took me so long to adjust to life in Japan is that I was already looking forward to what I expect to be my next step: grad school. I spent much of the fall researching schools, deciding on which programs to apply to, studying for the GRE, writing statements of purpose, requesting letters of recommendation, etc. I missed out on some experiences because I was focused on applications, but I think that, right there, is a big indicator of what I really want. Why would I have put so much effort into preparing for grad school if that wasn't what I actually wanted?

So for now it seems I will most likely decide not to re-contract and instead hope not only to get accepted into grad schools but also to get good funding opportunities. I sent off applications to the German departments at UCLA, UW, UW-Madison, Ohio State, and Cornell. Most of their websites say not to expect a decision until March or April, so I have a while to wait. I have to decide by February 6 if I want to re-contract with my school here, so I will have to make a choice before I know the results of my applications.

It is so hard to decide what to do with the rest of my life. It's such an overwhelming decision, but I know a lot of people my age are struggling with it now. I am looking forward to getting an advanced degree in German and hopefully continuing on to a career in academia, but there is still so much else I want to do. I was never one of those kids who really knew what they wanted to be when they grew up; I was always jealous of their certainty. I was also never one of the ones who didn't have any ideas about what they wanted to do; I could never understand their lack of passion. My problem is that I have so many interests, I have a hard time choosing one to focus on. I want to do much more than I can fit into a lifetime, and that overwhelms and scares me.

When I look back on my life, even as young as I still am, I see all the paths I didn't take, whether or not I realized I wasn't taking them at the time, and I imagine my life as it would have been if I had taken those paths, and sometimes visions of my alternate lives flash through my mind. So far, I don't think my life would have been better if I had made different choices. I have had so many great opportunities and wonderful experiences, always meeting interesting and amazing people along the way. I love the life I have. I look back at my life so far, and even though I wonder how things might have gone differently, I really can't say I regret my choices. One of my biggest fears, however, is that one day I will look back at what I have done and wonder when things went wrong. I pray that day will never come.

A Resolution

2008-12-22T19:45:00.000-08:00

Ok, I haven't been very good about writing either email updates or blog entries, and that needs to change. Therefore, one of my New Year's resolutions is to write in my blog every day I am home or have access to internet. It might not be much, but I need to make myself write.

My other New Year's resolutions are as follows:

Encourage students to interact with me outside of class

Study Japanese more

Travel more

Write more (letters and stories)

Pray more

Read the news daily

My parents are arriving tomorrow evening! It will be so nice to see them. I hope they don't have problems with their flight because of all the snow in Seattle. Hopefully everything will work out okay and they will have a safe trip.

Today is a national holiday: the Emperor's Birthday.

Why Japan?

2008-10-12T08:53:00.000-07:00

At one of the pre-departure JET orientations, we were advised to write down our reasons for coming to Japan on the JET Programme. I didn't do it at the time, but I haven't lost sight of my reasons yet, so here they are:

1. To learn Japanese. It's a beautiful, complex language, and I love languages in general.
2. To experience Japanese culture. I love how ancient meets modern here. I'm intrigued by how a culture can be so similar to my own in many ways, yet it is still so incredibly different that I cannot function normally in it.
3. To test my abilities as a teacher and decide if teaching is something I would like to incorporate into my career.
4. To travel. In addition to finally being able to experience Japan, this is a wonderful springboard to explore other parts of Asia. My top two destinations to visit outside of Japan during this trip are Taiwan (because I developed a deep curiousity about Taiwan during my stay in China) and South Korea (because it's close, so it would be a shame not to go). Perhaps I will even have a chance to visit the Philippines again, which I would absolutely love.
5. To have time to contemplate my next move. Let's face it. I don't know what I want to do with my life. Sure, I have lots of ideas, but I just don't know where to head next. On this program, I can do something fulfilling and enriching while also taking the time to explore my options a bit.
6. To eat delicious food. Okonomiyaki. Takoyaki. Sushi. Udon. Japanese curry. Need I continue?
7. To learn to cook, too!!
8. To visit friends and learn more about the people of Japan. For not knowing much Japanese and never having been to Japan before, I really had a lot of Japanese friends before I came, and they always struck me as being especially friendly and easy to relate to. I wanted to see if the people I met outside of Japan are representative of the people in Japan. After all, it seems there is often a big difference in the mentality of the people of a certain nationality that you meet in their home country and those you meet abroad.
9. To promote international understanding and share my own culture with others. Japan has little diversity, so every foreign person can really make a big impact on how Japanese people view the rest of the world. I would like people to have experiences with foreigners that make them more open-minded and accepting of people who look, think, and act differently.
10. And finally, I just somehow got it into my head that I would go to Japan after college. I think that more than anything, the reason I came was just that I had this unshakeable idea that I would come to Japan after graduation. Sure, I have a lot of logical reasons as well, but a great deal of it was just an urge I felt, telling me to go to Japan.

the long-awaited (but not worth the wait) post

2007-06-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

I saw this on Kyla's blog, and it inspired me to make a blogging reappearance:

create your own visited country map

Red places are the countries I've been to, although the map is pretty misleading. I haven't been to any parts of Canada other than B.C., but hey, if it wants to color the whole thing in, I guess I won't complain. Can't wait 'til I go to China (in 3.5 weeks! Eep!)... think of all the red space that will create! ;)

I'll try to post sometimes while I'm in China too, since I don't think I'll really be able to keep in touch in any other way. I don't know how easy it will be for me to get to a computer with internet though... We'll see.

In other news, today I moved out of my house. I feel homeless. Although in reality I still have 2 rooms with my stuff in it (well, 3 if you count the hall of my old house).

And I guess my last news is the play. Yesterday was opening night, and today is our final show. :) Kind of weird to think school is ending for the 06-07 year. Always feels so strange. I still have 2 papers to finish though, so I can't start relaxing quite yet...

And for those of you who are actually still reading this thing even though I never post: You're great! :) Love!

Dali Lama's Instructions for Life

2007-04-17T15:49:00.001-07:00

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three R’s:

Respect for self
Respect for others and
Responsibility for all your actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

Alex

2007-03-30T16:55:00.000-07:00

I am an aunt!!! My nephew, Alexander Johann, was born at almost 4 this afternoon, and he's 19 inches long, 7 pounds, 2 ounces. I still haven't met him or seen pictures, but I hope I will soon...

:D

I'm back!

2007-02-27T00:51:00.000-08:00

I decided that last post was far too little considering the amount of time it's been since I posted a decent post. I am rather tired now, but we'll see how this one does.

A lot has happened, but I don't really know where to begin. Hmm...

Did I tell you I have a job? I've had it for a while, but I'm not sure if I mentioned it on here or not. Anyway, I am a peer minister for Wesley Club, a United Methodist group for college students. I am currently trying to set up a webpage for the group, so I'll try to link to it when I've done a bit more work on it, and then you can get an idea of what I do every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday afternoon. I haven't been going to the actual group meetings myself much this year, because of ballet and other conflicting activities, but I'm pretty sure I'll be attending regularly next quarter...

And did I mention my new camera?!?!?! Ok, so I know I did, but I am really excited. The battery is all charged up, so I just went in Kyla's room to bug her by showing off the wonderful zoom (close up shot of Kyla's face, taken from her doorway)... So anyway, I know I told you about that, but I didn't mention my new pillows and waffle maker!! I am so excited. If you've used my old pillow, you must know why... It was so flat... These are nice and puffy! And I have two of them! Hurrah!! :) And the waffle maker. Oh man. It is one of those professional, flip-them-in-the-iron Belgian waffle gadgets. I am so excited. It's really big though... I don't really have room for it... But oh well. It's worth it. Yummy!

Of course, the biggest news is probably that I'm 21. I mean, that's a life-changing event right there. Now I can go to College Inn Pub on Wednesdays with the other cool kids! :) I really enjoyed my birthday too. It started with dinner at the RAM, which included 20 friends, many presents, 2 alcoholic beverages, many hugs, and one mile-high mud pie. Immediately thereafter we made our way to the Irish Immigrant so I could have another couple drinks (by this time Brian had taken me under his wing and started buying me drink after drink) and of course get the free birthday t-shirt! Unfortunately, they were all out of t-shirts (boo!!!), but I got an IOU and we sauntered down the Ave (without my purse, which Thomas ran back to get after we'd already walked 8 blocks down the street) to Earl's, where Brian bought me my last drink, an AMF. After that, I got pretty friendly (I kissed quite a few people that night...), and my memories of Earl's and the walk home are pretty fuzzy... but thank you very much to Brian, Kyla, and Thomas for taking care of me!!! I love you guys!!!

I guess that'll do for now. I need to do a bit of reading for my literary critical theory course, and it's already quite late, so...

Bye for now!

Yay!

2007-02-26T23:09:00.000-08:00

I have a camera again!!!! With 10x optical zoom! Very pleased.

Stress...

2007-02-15T14:59:00.000-08:00

Today I had my last midterm--an oral exam/presentation about a section of War and Peace. I hate presentations. Ugh. I was so nervous. But it's done now, and I think I said everything I'd meant to say, so I'm pretty much just glad it's over...

I didn't realize how close we were to the end of the quarter, until my pastor mentioned that this is the seventh week of ten (!!) and I got an e-mail from FIUTS saying that next week is the last Wednesday lunch of the quarter. Eep! I'm not very happy about that, because I just got done with midterms and feel like I have the pressure of finals on me already. :( I'm so stressed out...

I'm glad this week has a 3-day weekend.

In 2 weeks...

2007-02-06T23:03:00.000-08:00

I'll be a big kid!!!

Regarding Old Posts...

2007-02-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

Ever since I wrote my letter about right-handed people hogging the lefty desks, I haven't had any problem at all getting a lefty desk. No inconsiderate righties or laptop users. Isn't it weird how that happens?

About the himself, herself thing. I'm not sure I explained myself clearly last time... look at these:
myself --> my
yourself--> your
ourselves--> our
itself--> it/s (this one is not clear)
herself--> her
himself--> him
... Now do you see it?? "Him" is the only one that doesn't fit in. All the others are possessive (with the possible exception of it/s), so why do we say himself instead of hisself? And I won't accept "That's the way it is" as an answer. In fact, I don't expect any answer. It was just a random musing.

And why didn't any of you respond to my summer dilemma? *Sigh*
Oh well. Right now my plan is to apply for the Ecuador and China Worldteach programs. Assuming that works out, I will leave in mid-June and return mid-August.
I'll keep my eyes out for a late-summer archaeological dig, but I haven't heard about any interesting ones this year, so it doesn't make sense to plan on that.
Job and/or classes=back-up plan.
I'm still undecided though... I hate making decisions... commitments... :(

Still no camera.

R.I.P. Lumix DMC-LZ2 (Dec. 2005-Dec. 2006)

2007-01-31T23:24:00.000-08:00

My camera is officially dead.

Okay, so it still turns on, but the lens can't see anything but black.
I took it to a camera shop today, and the man there said that I should leave it on with the batteries out for a couple days, but if it doesn't work after that--and I bet it won't--the repairs would cost the camera store $92, so it would probably cost me around $125. I might as well buy a new camera...

It only lived a year. Nonetheless, I got tons of use out of it. It went practically everywhere with me. I miss my camera. :(

Rest in peace, LZ2.

A short plea/rant

2007-01-25T17:51:00.000-08:00

Dear inconsiderate right-handed people, especially those in Comp. Lit 400 and 351:

I would like to express my increasing displeasure at your consistent use of the limited left-handed desks in our classrooms. Practically everything in our society is designed for your kind, and I would really appreciate being able to use one of the few things that are actually designed for the comfort of lefties. There is no good reason for laptop users and righties to occupy coveted lefty seats. Also, do not push lefty seats into obscure corners of the classroom, just because you do not wish to use them yourself. Such actions are unacceptable displays of your lack of consideration for lefties. Thus, if you are right-handed, please stand up, remove your belongings, and relocate to a more appropriate desk. Thank you.

Sincerely,
A left-handed classmate

What should I do this summer?

2007-01-24T22:24:00.000-08:00

I need to start deciding now! I have a few ideas in mind...

1) Take intensive 2nd year Japanese
Insanely stressful, but fun and rewarding as well. I want to teach in Japan for a year or two, so knowing a bit more of the language could be nice.

2) Take necessary German and/or Comparative Literature courses at UW, to graduate earlier
I am only considering this if I am not an RA next year, because if I am an RA, I won't graduate early anyway. This is pretty much my back up plan, in case I don't apply for anything else soon enough and get too scared to take Japanese again.

3) Try to find a meaningful job or volunteer experience--for the experience, not the money
Sometimes I get worried when people ask me what I'm going to do after school, and I'm like "Umm... something...".... This should enable me to answer that question with more confidence and flesh out my resume a bit.

4) Try to find any sort of job--for the money, not the experience
Because my bank account is getting hungry!

5) Be a summer camp counselor, dean, or staff member at Redwood Christian Park
I love that Californian camp sooooo much, and I've always wanted to be a counselor there, but never got around to it. The older I get, the less likely I am to do it... but there are so many other things I'd like to do...

6) Go on a short academic exchange
Trouble is, I don't know where to go! Although I am strangely attracted to Copenhagen... But the deadlines are approaching, and this option is probably too impractical for the cost. (I doubt I would regret it though.)

7) Volunteer for World Teach (probably in the Costa Rica Summer Program), or similar activity
To experience a culture with which I am unfamilar. Having this experience would also be helpful when applying to teach in Japan. It's a bit costy though, considering the hungry state my bank account is in. Do you know of any similar, less expensive volunteer opportunities?

8) Work at an archaeological dig
I've taken archaeology and anthropology courses, and I'd like to get some more experience in that field... I couldn't go before when I wanted to, because I was going to Germany, but nothing's stopping me now...

Ok, so now I need feedback!! What sounds fun to you? What sounds beneficial?
What should I go for??

Random Thought of the Day

2007-01-22T17:53:00.000-08:00

Why do we say himself and herself? Shouldn't it be hisself and herself?

Tonight

2007-01-19T14:44:00.000-08:00

Tonight my Rae is spending the night!!!! I'm so excited... YaY!!!

Also, I was just wondering: who puts all the little stickers on apples? I really hope that's done by a machine, or somebody must have a really boring job...

I'm a ballerina ;)

2007-01-16T20:34:00.000-08:00

I just had my first ballet class ever, and it was sooooo relaxing. I still feel relaxed... content... happy even. And I feel so much more flexible than I've felt in a long time--perhaps I really will accomplish resolution #5!

Taking ballet reminds me of my month in Vienna, because one of my closest friends there (Mio) is a Japanese ballerina, so she'd teach us a couple fun moves sometimes, and we'd all goofily hop and spin around the room. Eventually my Japanese friends decided we should form a dancing group, and they named it Prima Ronda, since I danced around with so much enthusiasm (even though I don't know any ballet). It was so fun... just like when I was little and my friends and I would make up little clubs, only in Vienna we were between the ages of 19 and 25. :) Aww man, I miss them so much!

Good night, my buddies! Love!

Hurray!

2007-01-16T14:35:00.000-08:00

Within the past 15 minutes, I have received 2 pieces of happy news:

1. My first class of the day is cancelled, so I will begin at 3:30! Which means I have time to blog. ;)
2. Kevin is spending the night tomorrow! Slumber party!!
...

Plato annoys me, but I like Aristotle very much.
...

"Perfume" last night was very good!! I thought it would be creepy, and I did end up covering my face a couple times, but the way it was filmed, it was... beautiful.
I want to read the book, because it must be even better.

It's not so bad.

2007-01-15T16:52:00.000-08:00

Amazingly enough, I am doing a bit better now. Not like normal, of course--there's a constant throb in my chest, and I feel like I could cry at any moment. But I don't, and that's a big improvement. As long as I'm not crying all the time, I can move on with my life, no matter how I actually feel. I'm a bit surprised, because I went to my brother's right after I posted last night, and they didn't even notice that I was upset. Seems like a good sign, I think. After all, if you portray a positive image outwardly, you will eventually feel the effects of that on the inside. Try it: If you're sitting down, throw your arms up and back or clasp your hands at the back of your head, look up at the ceiling or sky, and tell yourself "I am amazing." It really works, even if it's only for a moment.

I've also started listening to happier music. More ska. Need to stop wallowing. So I'm slowly turning my "broken heart" playlist into a "songs that make me smile" playlist.

And I'm also trying to stay active so I don't even allow myself the chance to wallow. I did way too much of that Saturday and Sunday. But today I spent the night at my brother's, took the bus back to UW and immediately went to bubble tea with Ryoko and Ozlem, and in a while I will go see "Perfume" with Stephan and some others (I actually don't know who else is going, but I hear it's a big group, so that should be pretty good for me). And tomorrow I have class, Wesley Club, and ballet... Wednesday I have FIUTS lunch, class, and hip-hop... I have something fun lined up every night until Sunday.

And I can't wait for Rocky Horror on Saturday! I've been wanting to see it for years!

This is ridiculous.

2007-01-14T18:38:00.000-08:00

I have been so unproductive the past couple days. Mostly, I have been sitting on my bed, listening to a few select songs that harmonize with my soul at this moment.

Tons of Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Keane.
"Flight to Neverland" themesong -- John Williams
"Everlong" -- Foo Fighters
"Ode to My Family" -- the Cranberries
"Eternity" -- Robbie Williams
"A Long December" -- Counting Crows
"Ana's Song" -- Silverchair
"Come on Eileen" -- Save Ferris

I don't want to feel like this. I don't want to spend all day crying. This is ridiculous.

Well, I'm going to spend the evening at my brother's house. Hopefully I'll feel a bit better after that.

Resolutions!

2007-01-14T17:19:00.000-08:00

A bit late, but I've decided to make some resolutions for 2007. So here it goes:

1. Japanese.
Beautiful. Always wanted to learn it, and there's no better time than now!

2. Write.
Letters, e-mails, poems, stories, anything. Everything. To keep in touch with friends. To bring me closer to my dream.

3. German.
Because a Germanics major should speak better German than I do...

4. News.
To be more informed. To be more conscious of the rest of the world.

5. Splits!
I've wanted to be able to do the splits my whole life, but I have only achieved it once (on accident at recess in 3rd grade). If I'm ever going to be flexible enough to do this again, I better start now.

Umm... I'm a little emotional right now.

2007-01-13T23:47:00.000-08:00

Have you ever looked across the room at someone, met their gaze, and recognized that you had to talk to that person? It's almost magical; the force is so compelling... It's breathtaking.
But then you realize that it's all an illusion. Great relationships are built on trust and communication, and a good foundation can't be laid in an instant.

During my life, I have met the most amazing people. People spend their whole lives searching for people like them, and I was lucky enough to find the first one before I was even old enough to form memories. On top of that, I was born into an amazingly loving family. I really can't imagine anybody more blessed than I am.

It's crazy to look back at how much we've been through together... struggles, heartache, misunderstandings, miscommunication. But even though some of those relationships put us through a lot of pain, it's all worth it because it made the relationships stronger. Because we've been through hard times, I know our friendships are built to last.

I am so thankful that you are a part of my life.
...

Also amazing is how you can't really know anything. Or plan anything. You plan up to a certain point, and then everything crumbles beneath you, and you just have to jump. And you have to make the best of wherever you land, because that's all you can do.
...

I have a sudden urge to watch Hook. Speaking of which, Matt looks so much like the little boy in that movie. I told him that the last time I saw him... I've always thought so, and I've known Matt since kindergarten, but I never got around to telling him that until last week. And he smiled at me.

Speaking of people I've known since kindergarten, it's so strange how different some people are, and how constant others seem to be... Strange also how you can trace one dramatic change or decision to one concentrated event.
...

It's also interesting how some bonds do seem to blossom out of practically nothing. You meet for a short amount of time, and you recognize that there is some kind of inexplicable bond there, and no matter what happens, you end up thinking about that person for years, perhaps even for the rest of your life. Maybe you meet again, maybe you don't. Maybe you spend years writing to each other. Or maybe a smile spreads across your face when you see theirs in an old photo album. There's not enough of a foundation to call it a true friendship, but it's still there, and it's amazing.
...

Where did we come from?
Where are we going?
How can we, so insignificant, whose lives are so fleeting, feel so much?
How can we believe that we can make a difference?
How can we think that we are unimportant?
Why do so many small things seem so big, while so many big things seem so small?

What will I achieve in this life?
What will others think of me when it's all over?
Will I ever have the one thing I want more than anything else?
Will I say all I need to say before it is too late?
Why do I ignore the most important question?

Does it even matter?

Well,

2007-01-13T03:19:00.000-08:00

For the first time in my life, I officially consider myself drunk.
I guess I almost made it to my 21st birthday.

**edit: by drunk, I did not mean wasted. I just meant I had less coordination than normal. A bit tipsy--you know. Definitely no hangover...

...

2007-01-10T21:45:00.000-08:00

... I don't understand.

Ramblings

2007-01-08T18:06:00.000-08:00

So many times when I want to write in this thing, I write whole paragraphs and end up erasing them, because I think my readers won't be able to understand what I mean. Not that I lack faith in my readers, but I realize I am often a rather confusing person, and I'd rather not explain myself. So today I am going to try something new: I am not going to erase a single thing I type. Let's see what happens.

I probably shouldn't write about this, because I might not get it and then I'll feel disappointed that I told you guys about it but... today I applied for a job for next year, and I really hope I will get it! When I first started applying, it wasn't a huge deal to me, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I would be great at that job... and it would be great for me! So even though I'm not going to go into detail about it, wish me luck! If I get it, I'll let you know. If I don't.... well, don't ask me about it. :) I'm getting mad just thinking about applying for jobs though, because the last time I was going to apply for a job, I really wanted it (might not have been perfect for it though), and I w--well, I didn't get it.

I really need to do laundry. I hate that we have coin-operated laundry machines. Argh! It is so annoying to have to get quarters. But I am on my last pair of pants and I only have a couple shirts left, so... Actually, I don't really have any shirts left that I want to wear. Why am I telling you about laundry? You don't need to know about that... (I would delete all of this except I told you already that I wouldn't, so I'll leave it in)

Actually, I pretty much want to delete everything I have written and just not post anything. That is most likely what I will do in the future, but this time I will post it. Just for.. kicks and giggles? Sure.

So now we know what happens when I don't erase. Worst post ever.

Love!

Well.

2007-01-06T16:48:00.000-08:00

Classes have begun again, and I still am not sure what I think about my new classes, but I am pretty sure I like them better than last quarter. First of all, my German teacher actually speaks German to us!!! That in itself is a huge improvement. My other courses are comparative literature courses. One is about love and war, and the instructor is pretty entertaining. He calls students up to the front of the room to show how people react to certain situations, and then shows us how Tolstoy uses that knowledge in setting up certain details War and Peace (we're reading it now). It's pretty interesting, and my professor told us that the course will be the most important class of our undergrad educations. I wonder if I will agree with him at the end of the quarter, but I hope I will--that would make it a truly amazing course. The other course I am taking is literary theory, and I am not sure how I will like that one. I am really interested in the material, because I realized in my past literature courses that I need to learn a lot more about theory, but the class is pretty much a 2 hour lecture--boring! I grimaced inside when he said the class would be taught in a European style, since he is European... meaning that he is just going to sit there and ramble on for two hours each session. Thus I will spend every class trying to make myself pay attention to his quiet (lulling) explanations instead of letting my mind wander on to other matters. It will be quite exhausting. Even so, I like my instructor for that course.

Well, on to social life! I've actually had an eventful few days, although I doubt I remember everything I've done... I have no idea what I did on Wednesday, even though I am pretty sure I did something, but I do remember Thursday. After class I went to the Ram for dinner with friends from my high school days, then we hung out for a while watching Matt's movies, etc. A few of the guys went out for a "walk" part-way through the evening, and one of them came back really high and giggly... It wasn't my first time around someone who's high, but it was my first time being scared by one. Sometimes he would shake uncontrollably and afterward wouldn't remember what had happened and couldn't figure out why we were all there. It made me kind of sad. I don't like seeing people out of control and lost to themselves like that. I hadn't even realized marijuana can have that kind of effect--before I'd just seen people really giggly and silly, and that didn't really bother me (because they still seemed to be themselves, just sillier), but what I saw on Thursday was rather disturbing. I don't really understand why someone would do that to himself. I do actually think marijuana should be legal, and people should be able to choose whether or not they want to smoke it, and the same goes for my friend, but... I'm worried about him. The night was still nice though; I enjoy getting to hang out with my old buddies.

Friday after class I went to a sushi lunch buffet to meet Ozlem, my Turkish friend who is going home soon. Two other international kids were there (Germans--yay!), and I really enjoyed talking with them. I knew one of them before, but the other had just arrived for winter quarter, so I hope I will see her around more. So the conversation and sushi were great, and Ozlem and I also went shopping downtown for a while, mostly to catch up a bit since I hadn't seen her in almost a month!! Then I went home and read for a while before going to a Sonics game with FIUTS. Actually, Thomas and I hadn't bought tickets through FIUTS, but we decided to go at the last minute and see if we could get tickets there, and we ended up getting really nice seats! The Sonics lost, but I was still happy to go, since I'd never been to one of their games before. When I was younger (and by that I mean around 4th-7th grade) I really liked basketball and tried to watch their games when I knew they were on TV, but at this point it's been years since I've seen any basketball game at all. And since we (Thomas, Richard, Markus, Stephan, and I) were pretty hungry, we walked around downtown for a while, in search of food. But since it was about 11, everything we saw was closed or closing, so we took the bus back to the U-District and went to IHOP (except Stephan, who just went home), and I had a yummy omelette and pancakes! The waitress almost forgot to bring me my pancakes, which was not pleasing, but in the end the pancakes were devoured and my stomach was satisfied. And then I went home, where I planned to plop on my bed and sleep (It was around 12:30 then, I think), but there was an unexpected party in progress when I got to my house. I kind of stood at the bottom of the steps in confusion for a few seconds, when some guys (strangers to me) shouted down that I was welcome to come on in if I wanted to, and I was like "Umm yah, I better be... I live here." So then I went in and (tiredly) hung out, and even when the guests left (glancing in my direction and saying "they seem to be getting tired, maybe we should go"), Fletcher, Kyla, and I ended up chatting for at least an hour more, and then Kyla and I still managed to stay up until around 5. Yah, I don't know how that happens. One moment it's 1 AM and you're pretty sure you're going to plop on your bed and immediately fall asleep, and then before you know it, it's 5 AM and you're completely exhausted yet no longer want to go to bed but force yourself up the stairs to your room. But I'm glad I stayed up; good times were had (despite my zombie-like state), and I got to bond a bit with Fletcher, who I rarely talk to, even though he stays in the room right next to mine.

Oh, but one thing that I was thinking about as a result of one of last night's conversations is that you never really know what a relationship will be like when it is past the stage it is at then. That is not very well stated, but for example: Last year, I had a really good Italian friend, who I hung out with really often, and we went to Berlin together, etc., but in March, she left Tuebingen, and I haven't heard much from her since! And I definitely thought we would stay in touch, but I haven't heard from her in so long... In contrast, one time at camp I met a nice girl (a friend of a different, also awesome, camp friend) on the last day of camp, and I didn't really expect to keep in touch with her since we hadn't talked much, but we ended up writing to each other really frequently and developing a pretty good friendship (especially considering the distance)... and that was about 8 years ago, and we still keep in touch! So it's so hard to tell what kind of relationship you have with someone or how strong it is until a significant amount of time has passed and the relationship has been through a couple ups and downs. ...

In truth, despite of the length of my ramblings, I haven't really told you about what's on my mind, but I have a tendency not to, even though I kind of want to. I want to type about what I'm thinking about, but then I realize that this is the internet and I don't know who reads it... Thus, my secrets stay unwritten. Oh well!

Break is over... :(

2007-01-02T15:26:00.000-08:00

I am so tired. I had a great break, but I am exhausted. I need some more days of break so I can sleep in til 1 or 2 pm, hang out with friends as desired, read, and do nothing. Unfortunately, classes begin again tomorrow, so I don't have time for that sort of relaxation. At least I've done some reading and hanging out with friends. And tonight I get to see a lot of my old friends from high school! Just hanging out at Kelly's house, having dinner, playing games, and who knows what. Should be good times. :)

Oh, sad news: my camera is broken... So I only got to take pictures from the 1st half of my vacation, and I have no idea when I'll get it fixed or get a new camera... so I am pretty sad. I usually take pictures of practically everything.

The Caribbean was quite nice! Sunny, but not too sunny; hot, but not too hot. Just right. :) Our cruise went to Miami, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel & Playa del Carmen (Mexico), and a private island in the Bahamas. I'm not sure what my favorites were; there were nice things about most places, and pretty much every stop had some sort of nice natural attraction, like waterfalls or white sand beaches. I didn't really see anything in Miami, so I can't judge it. Jamaica was cheaper than most of the other stops, but there are really pushy salespeople, so it is hard to just browse around as I like to do, which made the marketplace less fun... I still like the people there though, and there is a really cool waterfall there (Dunn's River Falls). Unfortunately, since my family and I went there already when I was 9 months old, my parents didn't want to go back again to see it, which was pretty disappointing. That was one thing I'd really wanted to see on the trip, and it's not like it really matters to me that I was there 20 years ago--it's not like I remember that. I absolutely loved Grand Cayman, probably because I got to go on a shore excursion. I went to a turtle farm that had green sea turtles and Kemp's Ridley turtles, and... well, I pretty much fell in love. I got to hold some young green sea turtles, and it was really one of the happiest moments of my life--I almost cried. That might sound a bit silly, but I absolutely love sea turtles, and green sea turtles are my favorite of all. I don't know anybody who loves them as much as I do. After that I went on a boat out to a sand bar in the middle of the ocean where I got to swim with stingrays. There were 130 of them in the area, so they swam all over; I was kind of afraid I was going to step on one. Once I got more comfortable around them, I fed a few of them pieces of squid. To do so, you hold the squid in your fist and let the squid poke out next to your thumb, and then you fold your thumb inside the fist so the ray doesn't mistake it for the squid. Then, when you feel a tug on the squid, you immediately release the squid, and voilah! The meal has been accepted. I fed the rays successfully quite a few times, but once a ray missed and thought that the back of my hand was the squid and tried to eat it! It actually hurt a lot, and in a fraction of a second I had a huge hickey next to my thumb. It's amazing how hard stingrays suck... In Mexico I pretty much just walked around and went shopping a bit, mostly looking for postcards. I really wanted to send my postcards by the time we left Playa del Carmen, but it didn't work out. I didn't send any from the Caribbean. The last stop at the Bahamas was really nice, because the passengers had the private island all to themselves, and there were hammocks and lounge chairs all over, a nice beach, interesting shells, a nature trail, waterpark, and people could rent snorkelling gear or kayaks or go parasailing or something, too. I walked along the trail, back along the beach, and finally went swimming and read on the beach. Definitely the most relaxing stop. And I saw some cool fish and rays as I walked along the shore, too.

The cruis itself was also nice. There was so much food... I spent at least two hours a day eating dinner alone. Sooo much food. It was good food, but a lot of it was pretty fancy, so by the end of the trip I really just wanted pizza or spaghetti or something more simple. I don't need to have a 5 coure meal every night. And many nights there was also a midnight buffet to top it all off. I didn't go to many of those, because the last thing I needed after those huge dinners was a bunch of other food right before I went to bed... :) It was nice to look at it though, because they were arranged nicely and there were ice sculptures and other decorations out too. I bet I will be missing all that free food soon though, since I'm back at school where I have to buy and create my own meals.

Well, I'm gonna go for now... A bit tired, and I have to do some reading and prepare some food for tonight before I go to see my friends.

Love ya!

Free at Last

2006-12-17T16:47:00.000-08:00

No homework. No dirty laundry. No finals. No church orchestra piece needing to be rehearsed. No lurking Christmas letter to be written. No papers to write at all.

Yes, I am free. Free at last, free at last. And I am going to the Caribbean!! And tonight my Rachael will spend the night, and tomorrow my Monster and I will go shopping... Life is good.

The only evil force that still has me in its grasp is this evil cold... boo! But I know it is holding out for a few more days so it can infect a couple airplanes' worth of people.

Mmm... I think I will take a shower and maybe a nap as well. Because I am free now, so why not?

Confused

2006-11-30T17:02:00.000-08:00

I really think I have some form of dyslexia. Strangely, I never interchange letters, as normal dyslexic people do, but I do interchange sounds and numbers. Like if I read 24, I might remember it as 42.

Just now I was typing an essay, and the spell-checker underlined a word that I knew was right. Re - ve - lance. I sounded it out, and it should be spelled just like that... Right?
No. You've probably already figured out what my problem was. I meant relevance, not revelance, but I switched the sounds around in my mind.

And things like this happen to me all the time! It's so confusing... But I've never heard of it happening to anybody else... Which means I am just plain weird.

I love Thanksgiving.

2006-11-25T20:48:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is my favorite holiday.

The best part is that even though Thanksgiving is my true favorite, it just keeps getting better from now until after New Year's, excepting finals and projects and such.

Of course Thaksgiving does have its downsides, such as the food. I hate turkey, stuffing, gravy, and mashed potatoes. Gross. However, the sweet potatoes, corn, salad, and green bean casserole help make up for it, although that does leave me with a very imbalanced meal. But none of that really matters, because the best part of Thanksgiving is spending time with my family and Thanksgiving friends. (Cheesy, I know.) Every year of my life (except for the past year when I was in Germany -- I cried myself to sleep that night) my family and I have gone to Grapeview to spend 3 days with my mom's old college roommate (my mom's best friend) and her family. It's perfect really, because they have two sons my age who have two cousins my brother's age. Now one of the cousins has two babies, and next year my brother will have a baby too! They live on the beach, have the best house for hide-and-seek EVER, and after the evening meals we always play board games. This year we played a really hard (thus not so fun) version of Trivial Pursuit and Therapy, which was exceedingly fun. Although slightly embarassing. As luck would have it, when my dad was my therapist he just happened to draw the card which asked: On a scale from 1 to 10, how sexually experimenting are you?

My reaction: *blush*

Thoughts rushed through my head: Do they mean now? Previously? In the future? Do you have to have had intercourse to even rate yourself more than a 1? Does holding hands count? Ok, so I have done more than holding hands, but I haven't had sex yet, so I really can't answer that question. I mean, the last time I even kissed a guy was in May when a stranger stuck his tongue in my mouth in Prague, and that was quite unexpected. Ok, so that doesn't sound like something that just happens, but it really did. I'm not totally innocent, but I'm definitely not experienced. So what do I say?

It was actually a group therapy question, so the rest of the group had to rate what they thought my answer would be. Their consensus: 2. My answer: 3.

This lead to an uproar: 3?!?!?! WHAT have YOU been doing?!?!?! It was all good-natured actually, but still a bit embarassing. None of the other questions were like that; I was the only one placed into that uncomfortable situation. I mean, with friends, it would be okay. But with my parents? No. No no no. Although actually, I have told my mom everything of that nature, and I haven't told most of my friends much at all.

It really wasn't that big of a deal, although I was embarassed because of the family atmosphere, but it also wasn't something I'm going to forget any time soon. And throughout the night, other questions were turned into related jokes: "Out of all of the players, who do you think has the deepest, darkest secret?" Answer: Ronda. The 3. "Out of all the players, who is most likely to dream tonight of being bound in chains?" Answer: Ronda. My mom's opinion: "But she said earlier that she hasn't had a nightmare in years." My retort: "Who said it would be a nightmare? ;)"

Anyway. It was a fun time. :)

I actually didn't want to write this much.... I was going to rant about a guy that's been annoying me in one of my classes, but I got side-tracked. Anyway, the rant begins:
So there is this guy in my class who always seems to think he is right. Sometimes, when someone gives a perfectly decent answer, he will snigger, like he knows something to the contrary and that person has just made an ass out of him or herself. He has made some remarks that seem racist and sexist to me, and I am pretty sure he doesn't like me. To get down to what just made me think of him, I watched "Walk the Line" yesterday in Grapeview and noticed that June gives Johnny The Prophet by Khalil Gibran, an author that my Nemesis quoted during an oral presentation. His presentation actually made me want to know more about Khalil Gibran, and I wanted to understand more about the context of the quotes, since we had never talked about him in class, so I asked him a few questions:
Me: Where did you find those quotes you were using earlier? I mean, how were you exposed to them?
Nemesis: Umm, they were in books I've read. You know, for fun. (Seeming to imply that I do no reading myself unless it is school related, which is not true.)
Me: (thinking "Ok, that's not exactly what I meant, but whatever... I'll try a different track.") Well, do you know where the author lived? What culture he's from?
Nemesis: (looks at me like I'm an idiot) I'm pretty sure he's American...
Me: (thinking "What. a. jerk.") Oh, ok. Thanks.
And you know what? After my curiousity was revived by the movie, I looked online to see where he is from, and he is actually Lebanese, NOT American. He did move to America eventually, but he was born and raised in Lebanon, and that is the information I was looking for.
He just pisses me off.

long quarter....

2006-11-08T22:17:00.000-08:00

Hello Kyla!

Oh, and today is my mom's birthday, so: Happy Birthday, Mom!! (Although I would be surprised if she ever sees this.)

Well... I signed up for winter classes and also declared my second major in comparative literature. I rushed around the past 2 days trying to meet up with advisors to declare it so I could register for a course which is majors only for this registration period, but now that I've gotten that all taken care of, I think I will stick with the back-up schedule I originally signed up for and leave that course for spring quarter. So I am currently registered for Comparative Lit 351: love and war in literature and film, German 312: historical approaches to German literature, Linguistics 400: linguistic methods and theory, and Math 307: differential equations.

I am really looking forward to the 3 day weekend ahead. And Thanksgiving. And winter break. This quarter has been so long. Longest quarter ever, with the exception of Autumn 04. Actually, now that I think about it, Autumn quarter always seems a bit long. Hmm.

Friday Kyla and I might go to the symphony with our campus club cards! That is, if I get mine before then. That will be really nice though. It's been a while since I've been to a concert.

Speaking of concerts, I got the music for the winter orchestra performance for my church, and it is really difficult. Especially the parts with five flats and strings of thirty-second notes... It's a bit above my level right now, since I haven't really played in a year and a half. It is nice to play again though.

I'm sleepy.

Oh, but one more thing: I am very pleased with the results of the vote!!

'Tis the season to be jolly, falalalala!

2006-10-25T00:28:00.000-07:00

lalalala!

I am excited about Halloween. The best part of the year is starting. Yep yep yep! Fun times are ahead! I still don't know what to dress as though. I am currently thinking pirate. Anything is still possible though, but I do have a sword, so I might as well make use of it. :) Or maybe I will be the lady of the lake... *ponder* This weekend I saw my little cousin Mia, and she wants to be a unicorn... :D So cute...

Also, I think I have decided my major... I would like to do Germanics and Comparative Literature with a Math minor. That will leave me with more flexibility to take other interesting courses. We'll see how it goes... :)

That's it for now... Just felt like writing a short something.

Hmm.

2006-10-12T01:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel so discouraged about learning German. Since I've been back, I've gotten more diffident about speaking it than ever before, and even when I lived there, I was a bit shy about using it. I do think my German has improved dramatically in the last 2 years, but... Sometimes I still wonder if it is even worth it. All of the Germans I know know English, and many of them know English much better than I know German. It just seems sort of pointless to learn new languages when it seems like everyone is learning mine.

BUT then I think a little more and I realize that even though my German friends know English, my Japanese and Italian friends that I met in Germany and Austria don't, at least not as well as we all know German. So if I stopped keeping up with German, I would lose touch with them as well. It's also a lot easier to speak German with non-German/non-Americans than with anybody else... I don't know if it is because neither of us are native German speakers, or if it is because I know I have to speak German to communicate with them. Probably the second, because now that I think about it, I'm not that shy about speaking German to Germans who seem not to want to speak English. *Ponder*

Just so you're not confused, I'm not thinking about quitting German. I love learning languages, and I love German. I'm just pondering.

It works!!

2006-10-11T21:16:00.001-07:00

My PS2 works again! Hurray! Now I have yet another device to help me procrastinate. I am currently using my PS2 as a DVD player (watching Batman Begins), so I can actually watch movies and use my computer at the same time. Yay for multi-tasking/procrastination!

Umm... that's it for now.

I could be punny, but I choose to refrain.

2006-10-05T16:00:00.000-07:00

Today my credits from Tuebingen were posted, and it turns out that I only have 2 classes left to take for my German major. Unfortunately, I won't be able to take one of them until next fall (bad planning on my part). So, pretty much, if I had planned better, I could graduate this winter. But I didn't, and actually, I'm thankful for that. I'm not ready to graduate. So I've been contemplating what to do with my extra time/credits here, and I have come up with a few options. I am pretty sure I will double major in Comparative Lit, or perhaps double degree, because I only need 5 more courses for that. I am also contemplating adding anthropology into the mix. Linguistics would work too, but I am more excited about anthropology. I could finish German, Comparative Lit, and either of those majors by spring of my true senior year (next year). So... should I shoot for a double degree? Triple major? Is there really a point to doing it, besides the satisfaction of doing something that sounds a bit challenging? I don't know. I could also just get minors in any of those, or in math, in which I only need a couple more classes to achieve a minor. Is it worth it?

Another day

2006-10-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

Hello there.

It's so weird going back to UW again. Homework all the time... What's up with that?! I'm falling into my usual pattern of procrastination. Actually, it's a bit worse than it used to be.

But I am having fun! This weekend Emily (friend from Tuebingen) came to visit, and that was quite nice. Took her to Pike Place, Seattle Center, Campus, etc. I hope we will get continue to meet up periodically, but I guess it's my turn to go there next. Yesterday I had dinner with Carolyn and Brandon, and we plan to take a dance class through the experimental college with another friend. We were originally planning to take hip hop, but the timing wasn't really working out, so it looks like we'll take cha cha and bachata? Not definite yet, still have to sign up. And today I met up with Alison who lived on my floor freshman year and then Calvin came to visit... So random meetings have made my life pretty busy lately. Sunday I also went to dinner at the International Friends club, tonight I ate at Wesley Club, and tomorrow I am going to FIUTS Wednesday lunch, so such meetings also keep me busy. Hmm, I see those are all centered around food... Interesting. Well, I guess you know how to get me to come to stuff. Free food.

I guess that's all. I'm not really in a posting mood, but it's been a while, so...

Also, I love naps. They are evil, addictive things, but I love them anyway. I took one yesterday and today! :)

Soon I will try to post pictures of the house, so those of you who can't come to visit me will have a chance to see what my place is like.

Goodbye!

Best South Park Ever.

2006-09-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

Get this video and more at MySpace.com

Unexpected

2006-09-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

Ok, today I experienced my first real reverse culture shock.

At the end of my first class (Linguistic Anthropology), when the teacher finished talking, all I heard was the rustle of bags, chairs, and feet shuffling past. Do you know what was missing?

Well, I do. Because unlike everyone else, I started clapping at the end of class. Luckily for me, I clapped lightly, so I don't think anybody but my neighbor noticed, and he seemed forgiving of my mistake, as he smiled and started conversing with me, but I was shocked at the lack of applause. I know that Americans don't knock on their desks the way Germans do at the end of each class, but I sincerely thought that we clapped. It just seemed so disrespectful and ungrateful not to clap at the end of class, and it's taken me all day to get used to the idea that we really don't clap here. Oddly enough, my reaction even related to what we were discussing in class. To state it simply: you have to know the culture you're in in order to know how to respond correctly in various situations. I just wasn't expecting to experience an example of that so clearly so soon.

After that class I had Approaches to German Literature, followed by Intro to Comparative Lit. I expect it to be a pretty interesting quarter, and I was fairly satisfied with my first day. I did have another moment of panic though, when, to make a longer story short, the professor asked if I could come up with a new line to replace the third line in the last stanza of a Robert Frost poem, so that the 3rd line would rhyme with the majority of the lines in the first verse. At first I kind of froze, because I had to keep in mind the context, rhyme, as well as the rhythm (iambic tetrameter), and I'm really relieved that I came up with something reasonable before the silence got awkward. I didn't have to come up with many clever things in class discussions last year, because everything was much more test, paper, and project based, so I only had to come up with clever things when I was expecting to anyway.

Looking back at it, I realize my day was full of little mistakes that I should have been able to avoid. I clapped at the end of class, my cell phone rang in another, (because) I forgot that my last class is 1.5 hours instead of just 50 minutes and told Kevin I'd meet him after class, and I had a headache at the end of the day because I forgot to bring water with me.... But there were good unexpected things too: at least one friend or good acquaintance in every class, running into Julia after Comp Lit, convincing her to come to the FIUTS lunch with me, seeing friends/acquaintances at the FIUTS lunch (ok, that was actually expected), fortune cookies, running into Kevin on the Ave (allowing me to apologize properly for previously stated mistake), seeing Ozzy on the bridge and spontaneously going to Northgate with her for a couple hours, and also briefly running into Ryoko and Melinda. I wonder if I will run into so many friends every day? I doubt it; that sort of luck is just too good to last.

I moved my TV here so I could use my Playstation 2

2006-09-25T03:08:00.000-07:00

And it's not working!! PS2... How could you do this to me?!

Not like I have that much spare time to play it anyway, but still...

I am pretty much moved in, but I need some posters or something. I have everything I need, but a couple days ago some friends were visiting, and Brandon said that it doesn't look like I'm really moved in yet... And it's true. It's still a bit impersonal.

The past few weeks have gone by so quickly -- I can't believe school starts in just a couple days.
Lately there have been some really clear skies in Seattle, and what impressed me the most is how vivid the stars were, even with a few city lights nearby. My roommate (Andy) and I walked down to the waterfront around midnight, and it was so beautiful. The skies above were so clear and reflected perfectly in the still lake -- it felt like looking into eternity. I've never seen anything that made me feel that way before. And today there were also clear skies during the FIUTS boat cruise, so it was gorgeous the entire time, yet somehow it looked even more beautiful as the sky got lower and I looked west to the Olympics and east to the Seattle skyline, and I felt... well... speechless really. It was just so beautiful. I feel so lucky to live in this amazing place.

And tomorrow -- canoeing!!! Hurray!!

Eep!

2006-09-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

Transrapid crash...

I rode on that back in March! Hard to believe it crashed.

Voting day!

2006-09-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

Preliminary voting, but still important! I hope all of you who are eligible went as well.

Since I made the trek home anyway, I had another relaxing day of hanging out with Rae. Very nice.

I also picked up my suggested grades from my exchange year, and somehow I got a lot more credits than I was expecting. This means I am technically over a quarter through my senior year... I am a bit annoyed though, because they somehow lost one of my courses, so I have to send in everything again, and I didn't realize it until I was looking through everything on the way to my parents'. Boo! But I'm really glad I only gave them copies of my certificates instead of the real thing, or I'd be screwed, since the course they left off is one of the most important ones I took last year.

I defy you.

2006-09-18T15:46:00.000-07:00

Someone intimated today that I think I don't have adventures anymore, since I'm not in Germany, and that person thought that is why I have not written, but I would like to inform you all that that is most certainly not the case. I had adventures long before I went to Germany, and I will continue to have them for a long time still. The reason I haven't updated is a mixture of 2 things: 1) I'm busy, 2) I'm lazy. So there you have it.

I am pretty much living in my new house now, and I love it!! The first night I spent here (last Wednesday) Rae came over to keep me company, and it was so fun. We organized my room, went grocery shopping, watched some movies, sang songs from the Anastasia sountrack (which I have had in my head ever since), and stayed up until 3:30 watching movies and talking even though I had to get up at 6:30. And the reason I had to get up so early is because I had to help set up and facilitate the Opening Day of the orientation for FIUTS (Fostering International Understanding Through Students) and afterward lead a group on a tour of Seattle. Monster has also decided to help with the FIUTS activities, so she was one of the other leaders on my tour!
I loved all the people in our group, and I also got to try Mochi for the first time when we stopped at Uwajimaya. The red bean flavor is delicious. I highly recommend it. I don't even remember what I did Friday... Oh wait, now I do! I was at home, because my U-Pass finally came, so I went home to get it, since I already had a valid bus transfer from the tour. Now I can go anywhere I want on the buses for free!! Yay!! So Friday I hung out at home until the evening. And Saturday and Sunday I went to Camp Cedar Springs near Granite Falls with FIUTS. I met a lot of interesting people, and the hikes we went on were beautiful too, so it was definitely a great weekend.

And just now, I got distracted by a familiar song (Authority Song) playing in Monster's room, and I started jumping around in her room, and it launched an impromptu dance party. I hope it will be the first of many.

Oh, and I did have one bit of reverse culture shock since I've come back to Seattle. I don't know if I'd just forgotten about it, or if it truly has gotten a lot worse in the last year, but I really don't remember seeing so many homeless people and such before. Whenever I go downtown, I see sleeping bags and worn out packs in the parks and sheltered areas along the street. I wonder if it really has gotten a lot worse, or if I'd just managed to forget about it during my year in Tuebingen.

Well, I think I am going to go see if one of my friends is home, look for some books at the bookstore, and finish a couple emails now, before I go visit my brother in a couple hours.

That is, if I can rip myself away from the Anastasia soundtrack. :)

New Place!

2006-09-04T00:42:00.000-07:00

Again!

Saturday my parents and I went to check out the new house. And I was going to tell you about it, but suddenly I am feeling quite tired. Well, I'll just say a bit. The house is pretty cool and my housemates seem wonderful! Including Monster! I feel pretty confident in saying that it is going to be an awesome year.

I like my room too. Pretty large, 2 windows (east and north facing) plus a window in my closet, hardwood floors... But I will need better lighting, and there is only one plug outlet... Nothing a plug hub can't fix, I suppose. A few things must still be done before I will feel like I really belong in the room though. Most importantly, I must find shelves, lighting, and a bed. Then I can move in a few chairs, tv, dvds, games, stereo, other sources of entertainment, and...... hmm, maybe some plants. We'll see. I would move my fridge up, but there are already mini-fridges all over the house, so that seems unnecessary. I'll let my brother keep it for now.

Must find shelves and a bed.

Hello there!

2006-09-01T00:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been home over 2 weeks now. Hard to believe, but I can't tell if it seems like it's been longer or shorter. On one hand, I feel like I've been here forever, almost like I never even went to Germany. On the other hand, it feels like I haven't been here long at all, and I guess I really haven't. I still have the nasty cold I caught on the plane, which demonstrates the shortness of the time since then, and I still haven't done a lot of things I need to take care of here, even though I have been pretty busy.

Even though I have been busy, I don't have a lot to update you on. I'm just falling into a relaxing summer routine: hanging out with friends, reading, watching movies, picking blackberries, going to the lake... And it is so nice to be without a job at home. So nice. I can't remember the last time I actually had free weekends at home. Well, I can actually -- it was the summer after my sophomore year of high school. Yep. It's been a while, and now I'm spoiled. I never want to work weekends again. (But I probably will anyway.)

That's one of my next missions: find a job. I know I just got done expressing the joys of the jobless life, but I spend a lot of money when I don't have a job, when I really don't have any money to spend... It's a vicious cycle really. Besides, I like to have a lot of activities, so jobs are actually kind of nice, even without the money aspect. They motivate me. And I did really enjoy my last job, although I doubt I will go back. I would like to try something a little different.

The month of September I should be pretty busy moving back to UW and helping at events for the incoming international students. I am so excited about that! I am really looking forward to meeting... well, everyone I'm going to meet. :) The other facilitators and organizers for the events are really nice too, so I think it will all be pretty fun. And I really like being a leader too, because it gets me out of my shell. I'm usually pretty shy, but when I know I have to lead a group and get them to open up to me and each other... It's just different. And so fun!

By the way, isn't the weather here beautiful this year?

Hope you're all enjoying the summer too!

Reunions!!

2006-08-20T21:45:00.000-07:00

Well, I already told you of my first reunion with Rae and our Snakes on a Plane excursion with Charlotte and Nick, but pretty much every encounter these days is a reunion, so it seems there is much more to tell!

Yesterday my friends from high school had a get together at Kai's. It was kind of a welcome back thing for the three of us who were in Germany (although I was the only one of us who made it -- Linz was at her niece's funeral :(, and Kevin was in Idaho --, so that aspect of it was a bit unsuccessful), but I think it was mostly a chance for everyone to see everyone before people go off to college again. Some of my friends already left today! It was so nice to see everyone though. It seems like most of the high school drama has worn off, and it's nice to be with a bunch of people I am really comfortable with. We just sat around and talked, swam in the lake, raced around on the seadoo, played trivial pursuit in teams (David and Anthony were on my team, and I declare us the winners, since we had 3 wedges by the time we stopped and everyone else had less, although I think that game is a lot more based on luck than one would think), and other such relaxing activities. I'd actually never driven the seadoo myself until this time, and it was so much fun! The water was really choppy, so we caught a lot of air, and I tried to catch the waves from every decent-sized boat as welll... Quite fun. I'm glad I went with Chris and Kelly, cause they like to speed and don't mind flipping -- Chris flipped us four times, once as we were traveling at 30 mph, and I think Kelly landed on my face... But it was still lots of fun! I'm looking forward to school with the UWers too. :) Carolyn, Brandon, Chris, and I decided to sign up for hip hop dance with the Experimental College. That should be entertaining... And we'll all be living near campus (as will Matt and Anthony, but sadly not Kevin), so there should be a lot of opportunities for hanging out and stuff.And this is quite unrelated, but I would like to share some words of wisdom from my dear Monster, before I forget them: "Better to have a true friend than a fickle boyfriend." I was just reminded of that on Saturday while talking with my friends, and how true it is. Thanks, Monster!

Today I went to church, and it was really nice to be back there too, but I did feel a bit overwhelmed. Since they hadn't seen me in so long, I felt a bit like I was in the spotlight, and that always makes me uncomfortable. Lots of people weren't there though (probably on vacation), so I'll probably be hearing welcome backs for a while still. I got to meet my brother's current exchange student, Joyce, and that was pretty cool. From what my parents had said, I thought she would be a lot more outgoing toward me, but she seemed a bit shy to me. She does seem really nice though, so I hope I will have more opportunities to get to know her better. Oh, another weird thing: At church, they are starting a new group for young adults between the ages of 18 and 30. When my brother (who is 29) and I (who am 20) saw that, we just couldn't get over it, because it means we are actually in the same age group. I don't think that has ever happened before... Anyway, next Sunday they are having a barbecue to start off the group, and I think we'll both go, so it'll be interesting to see how everyone interacts.

And tomorrow the reunions continue! Brian and I have been planning a dessert feast to be had upon my return, but he is pretty busy now getting ready for GRE's and stuff, so we're just going to have normal dinner and dessert as we catch up a bit, and later in the week Shana and I will have our HPFest 2006!! So exciting... And of course there are more reunions yet to come, but no concrete plans for them yet.

Snakes on a Plane.

2006-08-18T16:25:00.000-07:00

At least they got on the plane. I had a bit of trouble with that part on Wednesday. A bit after the time we were supposed to board our flight to Duesseldorf, a message came over the loudspeakers saying the flight would be delayed about 55 minutes. We should have only had about an hour to make our connection from Duesseldorf to Vancouver, so I asked them if we would have to find another connection. At first she said it would probably work out, but about half an hour later she made another announcement saying all passengers with connecting flights to Miami, LA, or Vancouver needed to go to the Lufthansa ticket counter and figure out a new connection home. Great.

So we did. But our connecting flight was with LTU, and since ours was a charter flight, it was really hard to get a new route home. At first they made it sound like it would be at least a day, if not a week, before we would be able to get a new flight home. I was like "NO. I AM GOING HOME TODAY. *grr*" We had to run back and forth from place to place in the airport... Finally we got LTU to endorse our ticket to Lufthansa, and they arranged a new route for us. We had to take the fast train to Frankfurt and from there we took a Condor flight to Vancouver. We ended up getting in only 2 or 3 hours later than our original plan, so it wasn't bad at all, really! Phew! :) Colleen picked us up, then we went to have dinner with her and Rodney (oh, in case you don't know, Rod and Colleen are my brother and sister-in-law) before coming to my parents' home in Renton. I was so exhausted... I didn't even want to take a shower, because I was so tired... All I wanted to do was call my best friends and go to sleep. Since it was almost 10, I only called Rae, and then I promptly fell asleep. On the couch. So tired.

The next day I unpacked a bit (a little more than 2 suticases, so about half my stuff), and then RAE CAME OVER!!! Oh geez, I was so excited. But I pretty much just sat there, all satisfied and not wanting to do anything. She'd just finished her summer classes too though, so I think she was also glad to just relax a bit. And it was so great to see her... But she's dangerous. She always makes me laugh when I have stuff in my mouth. And when I say laugh, I don't just mean a little chuckle, but an oh-help-I-can't-stop-laughing--I can't-breathe sort of laugh. Yesterday I swallowed a cherry pit becuase of one of her, and shortly thereafter I laughed as I was eating a plum, and the plum was just kind of hanging out of my mouth, because all I could do was laugh and I couldn't get the plum back in... I bet it was really attractive... And as we were driving home from snakes on a plane, I'd just taken a drink of cola, and she made me laugh yet again.. At first I thought I could wait it out and swallow it after the laugh, but it got worse, and I ended up laughing it out all over my jeans. Oh man. :)

And now. Snakes on a Plane. I must say, when Monster told me about that movie, I thought it was some sort of internet joke. It's just so ridiculous! Really. Snakes on a Plane? What kind of movie is that?! So when Rae told me she'd bought us tickets to go see it with a few of her friends (at the pre opening day late night showing), I was like "Oh. Snakes on a Plane? Oh. Sure. I'll go. Yes." I was far less than enthusiastic. But I didn't really care what we did, as long as I got to hang out with my friends, and my enthusiasm grew a bit as the day went on. I really thought it would have been awesome to find some stuffed animal snakes and wear them as scarves, or perhaps find some rubber ones and throw them into the audience during the movie, but the time flew by, and we just didn't have time for all that. But anyway. What I'm trying to say is... that movie is awesome!! It was just so ridiculously amazing. I had quite low expectations, but it was really good! It had an interesting enough plot, and it was just the perfect mix of cheesy and scary. You know when you hear the title, you think "Well, at best it could be a kind of comedic horror film..." Well... it was. It was just perfect. I think seeing it the first night helped too, because the audience was awesome. It was one of those movies where you feel kind of like you bonded with the people in the rows around by the time you walk out of it. People would comment here and there, which normally bothers me, but in this case it just added to the hilarity of it all. And man. Good times were had. But I'm not sure I want to see the movie again. I just don't think I could have a better experience watching it, and I think this is one of those movies that really depends on who you watch it with. The better the company, the better the experience. But it was so great, I don't think I'll be able to resist giving it another try.

And today I went to the doctor, had lunch with my parents, and went shopping with my mom. She bought me two pretty dresses. :) I rarely find dresses I like, so I was really pleased! The fashions in the stores here now are really my style, so I'd like to do a bit more shopping in the near future too, because lots of times I feel like there is just nothing that suits me at the mall, but now there is a lot of stuff I like.

Anyway, being here with my family and old friends is really nice, and I'm starting to really feel at home again, although my life in Germany is kind of fading away and feels as though it were all a dream. Kind of sad, but what can ya do? It was an experience I'll treasure forever, but it's time to get back to my Seattle life.

Moving.

2006-08-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

Well, I left Fichtenweg 12 this morning, and that got me thinking about how much I've been moving the past few years. It really seems like a lot! To the dorms, to my brother's, home again, to Vienna, to Tuebingen, and now back to Seattle. But I guess that's rather normal for college years.

Now I'm pretty much just waiting for my flight. All packed up (so much stuff!! How'd I get all that?!), just spending the night at a friend's before I leave in the morning. My dad and I have to catch a 5:31 bus to the airport... I am contemplating just not sleeping. If I just wait until 11 AM tomorrow to sleep, I'll be on a perfect schedule for Seattle! It will be like going to bed at 2 AM there, which is completely normal really.

Actually, I think I've done that every time I've come to Germany. :) Can't stop the tradition, right?

Goodbye, Germany!

2006-08-14T04:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I feel better about the translating position now. In reality, I might not have been qualified anyway, because I'm not sure my German is really up to the level they were expecting, but it was an entry-level position, so it also could have been, I just don't know. I guess I am just disappointed that they judged me based on a typo I made while I was hurriedly typing on a foreign keyboard instead of my real skills. They didn't even give me a chance to submit an application.

Now I'm back in Tübingen and getting ready to return home. I fly out Wednesday morning around 8:30 from Tübingen to Düsseldorf, and then I transfer to a flight bound for Vancouver, B. C. Hopefully my brother or sister-in-law will remember to pick us up at the airport there. :)

The weather in Tübingen is awful. It's cloudy, rainy, and pretty cold, so my dreams of one last visit to the Freibad have been dashed! Oh well, I guess I will just have to come back to Tübingen to go again when the weather is nice. ;) I will miss a lot of things here... The Freibad, my few (but awesome) German friends, the scenery, the German language... But there are also quite a few things I won't miss, like the pink bangs lady at Treff. She is the epitome of the unfriendly customer service I've encountered here.

I can't believe I'm going home...

I hate these keyboards!!

2006-08-11T12:12:00.000-07:00

So you know how I was complaining about the keyboards around Europe, and especially in France? Well, I had just found out about a position at a language center that translates between German and English, and I wrote to the lady to ask how to apply for the position. She wrote back and said that it appears I am not qualified for the position, since they want someone who is detail-oriented, and I apparently did not proofread my email. You know what the problem was? I wrote a q instead of an a, because of that stupid keyboard!! And I didn't have time to proofread, because I only had a minute or two left when I wrote that mail. Argh. So sad. I really wanted that, more than I've ever wanted any sort of job. :(

Oh well. They don't know what they're missing. I'm a really dedicated employee. I'd enjoy working in a bookstore though, so maybe I'll find a job in one of those.

My dad and I have spent the last 2 days in the Alps, and although it is beautiful, the weather has been too bad to enjoy it properly. Too cloudy to see the highest mountains.

Actually, I was having a great time in spite of that, until I read the email from the translation lady. Dumb me.

French keyboards are so confusing...

2006-08-09T13:14:00.000-07:00

So please excuse any typos in this. I expect it will be full of them.

After leaving Lagos my dad and I went to Lisbon and made a short trip to Sintra. I loved it, and I really wish we would have had more time there. Also, coincidence: Remember those 2 English guys I mentioned? We ran into them at a fortress in Lisbon as well! That seemed unusual, but definitely cool!

So now my dad and I are in Toulouse, France. We visited a huge walled city and castle in Carcassonne today, and tonight we are headed on a night train bound for Lyon. The plan it to make it to Zermatt, Switzerland (near the Matterhorn) tomorrow afternoon. Then we'll head to Interlaken and hopefully Gimmelwald for some hiking before heading back to Tübingen. Should be there by Sunday.

So tired. Still 2 hours before the night train.

No interesting phonebooth sightings on this trip. Boo.

Hope all's well with you, and hope you are enjoying your vacations and such! Love,

Ronda

Currently typing in Lagos, Portugal

2006-08-04T13:35:00.000-07:00

Hey! I don't have a lot of time, but I wanted to say hi to you all! My dad and I just got to Portugal today, and although it's only been a few hours, I really like it here.

Traveling with my Dad has also been nice, but it is definitely harder to make friends while traveling when with a parent. Today I met some nice English guys (going the same route as us from Huelva, they happened to end up with a camping spot across from ours here in Lagos!), and it would be cool if the circumstances were more appropriate to hang out with them. You know how sometimes you meet people, and even if you only talk for a few minutes, you just click, and you know that if you had the chance, you would be awesome friends? Well, that's how it is with them.

Also, I like Spain much better than I did before I came. I was disappointed by Barcelona.. not as original as I'd expected... but the people are way nicer than the Spaniards I'd met while traveling, so my bad impression of Spaniards has been much improved.

So yah. More later. Love ya!

Ronda

I shouldn't be doing this now

2006-07-26T09:01:00.000-07:00

but I'm in the mood for a survey, so here you go!

80 weird questions

Do you watch the Gilmore Girls?
Not recently, but I did in high school.

Have you ever enjoyed listening to Jack Johnson?
Yes, I like chillin' to his stuff.

Have you ever seen or enjoyed watching the O.C.?
I've seen it two or three times, didn't really enjoy it, but it was somewhat amusing because I was watching it with friends and because it is so absurd.

Do you have one or more Britney Spears C.D.s?
Don't have any.

Which radio stations are your favorites?
I haven't listened to radio much the last 2 years, so I don't really have a favorite. Really depends on my mood. I guess I'd go with 101.5 or 107.7 though.

Are you a Lost fanatic?
I've never seen it.

[[Be honest]]

Do you have a song by Ozzy Osbourne in your library?
Nope.

Queen?
Yep! Somebody to Love, and a few others.

Alanis Morisette?
I think I have a song or two of hers. She's not a favorite, but she's ok.

Do you watch Family Guy regularly?
No, but I enjoy watching it occasionally... My roommate Helen was really into it last year.

King of the Hill?
I've seen that once or twice, don't like it though.

[[Admit it]]

Do you read trashy romance novels often?
No, but I have read a few.

Do you really work out every day?
No. I work out sporadically, whenever the urge hits me.

Have you ever eaten an entire pint, or more, ice cream by yourself?
No, but I tried to last year cuz they sell the yummiest flavors in pints and I didn't have a freezer.

Have you ever eaten nothing but junk food for a week straight?
No.

Do you shower every single day?
No, in the winter I don't always want to because I dread the coldness of coming out of the shower and stepping on that cold hard floor... brr. But at least every other day.

Buy a Christmas/birthday present & instead keep it for yourself?
Once in middle school. I wanted those Lipsmackers, darn it! Not since though.

Do you sing obnoxiously in the car when you're driving alone?
Ha! I've never driven alone! But I sing obnoxiously in the car when my friends are driving me around... It's fun! They enjoy it too. :)

Do you sing obnoxiously in the shower when no one is home?
Oh yah.... When I am at my parents house alone is really the only time I sing loud. I am always afraid I'll annoy someone, so I usually just sing quietly to myself.

Have you ever watched a little kid's show when you were over 12?
Of course.

Have you ever looked forward to going to school?
Quite often, especially when I was in elementary school.

[[The Necessary Love Questions That Aren't So Necessary]]

Have you ever pretended your crush was with you when they weren't?
... No... I actually don't know why somebody would do this. Sometimes I have dreams about my crush and they are so very happy and then I wake up and I'm like "Crap. He still doesn't like me." And that's that! But that's the closest I've come.

Did you draw pictures for your first crush back in elementary school?
Hahaha, no, but I remember one day in first grade, our class was watching a cartoon, and we had just finished coloring, but I wasn't done yet, because I'm a perfectionist, and my crush came over and helped me color it so I could sit by him on the carpet... :) He made my picture look messier though, but it didn't really matter, I was happy.

Have you ever liked a girl/boy but didnt ask her/him out because you were afraid?
Well, kind of. I don't ask people out unless I am pretty sure they like me. I guess it's because I'm afraid, but I'm not scared of being rejected as a girlfriend but of being rejected as a friend, because that is always more important to me. If I like someone enough to tell him, it means I think he is pretty special, whether we end up just being friends or being more than that.

Have you ever written a poem/story about your love life?
Maybe in middle school. I wrote a lot of poems back then.

Have you ever spent over an hour thinking about nothing but your crush?
Umm... (yes... pretty much anyway)

Have you ever liked someone solely for their appearance?
Never. I usually don't like people intensely until we are pretty good friends, or I make a point to become his friend to make sure he is worthy of my affection. ;) Of course I am attracted to people because of their looks, but that sort of attraction fades quickly for me.

[The Questions You Love: Completely and Utterly Pointless Ones]]
Do you eat all the servings in the food groups on a daily basis?
More or less, but not the proper proportions.

Are you ever a freak about cleanliness or organization?
No, although I am usually semi-organized, I am definitely not a neat-freak.

Have you ever been to South America or Africa?
No. Some day, my friends, some day.

Do you know how to knit?
Yep! But I'm still working on the scarf I started in 5th grade. Almost done now...

Do you have a cell phone or iPod with a patterned cover?
I have neither a cell phone nor an ipod.

Have you ever written love song lyrics yourself and put them in your profile?
Haha, no. Even if I did write love songs, I would be way to shy for that sort of public proclamation of my feelings.

Do you keep a diary or journal online?
Umm... no. :P

When you open your closet, what is the dominant color of your closet?
Hmm. I have a pretty good mix, but I have a lot of blue, green, and red.

[[Truly Unusual This or That Questions]]

Baskin Robbins or Coldstone
Coldstone, but I prefer the Mix on the Ave.

America or Canada?
I like both and I don't want to pick. America's home, but Canada is pretty sweet. :)

Physics or chemistry?
Physics. I love physics.

Earphones or headphones?
Headphones.

Pink or teal?
Well, teal is really awesome, so I'll go with teal.. but I do love pink.

Earrings or a ring? I miss my ring... I left it at home this year so I wouldn't lose it. Actually, I left all my jewelry at home, and only recently bought a pair of earrings so my holes wouldn't close up. Anyway, I like both, but I don't wear a lot of jewelry.

Commitment or casual dating? Well, I'm actually a bit scared of commitment and labels, but I wouldn't like casual dating... So I'll go with commitment.

Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings?
Aww man, there's no way I could ever make that choice. Nope. Both are awesome.

Fly or road trip?
...Train trip? Flying and road trips are really for two completely different types of trips. I'd like to go on a big road trip sometime though, so I'll pick that one.

Starbucks or Caribou?
Starbucks I guess.

[[Another Wave of Random Questions]]

What is your favorite Disney movie?
Aah! How can I possibly choose?! Probably Beauty and the Beast though... :)

How much jewelry do you own?
Not very much, but more than I use.

Have you ever bought clothing at sears?
I don't think so. Don't pay much attention to wear I get my clothes from.

---

Enough of that nonsense. Guess what!!! My essay is done!

Dad is here now, so I better go entertain him. That is why I shouldn't have filled this out now.

This angers me...

2006-07-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

Argh! A few hours ago I wrote a long post all about my fun fun weekend, and now it's gone!! Grr!! Very grr.

But meh, guess I'll write about my weekend later, when I'm not mad that it's all been erased.

I'm happy though, because the whole weekend I only spoke German!! Except when my friend's brother intorduced himself, he said "I didn't really introduce myself earlier, I'm David," and I replied "Nice to meet you, I'm Ronda," but then my friend was like "Sie kann Deutsch..." ("She does speak German..."), and I was like YAY!!! Because from then on they only spoke German with me, and that pretty much never happens. You'd think that wouldn't be so rare, since I've been here a whole year now, but I really think that is the only weekend this whole year that that's happened.

Speaking of speaking German though... I've been writing my essay in German (I now have 7.5 pages!), and although I always just write my things in German as I think it, I really wish I would have written this essay in English first and then translated it. I have had a lot of trouble structuring it, and I often lose my train of thought because I can't phrase it quite how I mean it, and then I start talking about something totally different, and well, my paper is pretty much all over the place. It's awful. You know what I said about it being a kickass paper? Yah, that's not going to happen this time. Maybe if I'd written it in English first, but instead I have this thing full of German that might not even make sense to somebody else (of course I understand it, since I knew what I was trying to say), and yah... It's just bad. But I'm just going to turn in whatever I have on Wednesday. :)

Aw man, in half an hour people could theoretically be arriving for my movie night, and I still haven't cleaned my room... and I want to go grill...

Oh well, messy rooms means we're friends.

Weekend plans

2006-07-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend I'll be visiting friends in Stockach, so you probably won't hear from me until Monday. It'll be nice to see them again! I met them last year in France and we'd been meaning to meet up all year, but we just didn't get around to it 'til now. Crazy how the time just sneaks by like that.

Now I'm off to a choir rehearsal and performance for International Choir, and then I plan to stop by a farewell party for a couple hours. I guess there will be a lot of those coming up. And Sunday after I get back I will meet up with my mentor and then go to Monster's choir performance.

By the way, I will be having a movie night thing in my room on Monday, and all of you are welcome to come. Don't know yet what the movie will be... Should be around 7 or 8. Let me know if you want to come. Even if you don't think I know you read my blog; don't be shy.

Aaah I am going to be late for choir!!!

As usual.

Bye!

I want to live... until I die.

2006-07-20T12:44:00.000-07:00

That is right, my friends, today I was introduced to the joys of Eddie Izzard's stand up comedy. Glorious. That's the sketch I saw, and it lived up to its name. I've been hearing Eddie Izzard quotes pretty much all year, or at least all summer semester, since I started hanging out with Cute Monster Kyla much more and being confused by Eddie Izzard references during choir. Something had to be done about it. So today I joined Monster and snatched the opportunity to watch my very first episode at Andy's. I loved it. Somehow I hadn't connected this Eddie Izzard of stand-up comedy to the Eddie Izzard of "A Clockwork Orange," so when I saw him, I was like "It's him!!" Of course the others were like "yah... (Ronda's crazy...)"

I think my favorite part was when he was talking about mowing the lawn and some sort of mower that doesn't work very well, so it doesn't really cut the grass but the blades just keep sliding over them and then the grass is like "oh for fuck's sake," and they just fall over. And that's where he got me. I never swear, but there is something about watching a guy like Eddie Izzard or a girl like that one girl that swears a lot in "Love Actually" that makes me think I just might be able to pull it off. I know I couldn't do it if I were to swear in the mean angry way, I would just look silly, but the way they do it... Well, I don't know what it is about it really, I just like it.

Anyway, my point is, if someday I just say "oh for fuck's sake" out of nowhere and fall over or do some other silly thing, and then (most likely) laugh at my own joke, you'll understand where I was trying to go with it. Because really, I'm not laughing at myself; I'm laughing at Eddie Izzard.

That is one thing I don't like about myself actually: I tend to laugh at my own jokes. I always think that's so silly... Like, why can't I relate something I find funny without giggling at it all over again? Sometimes it gets so bad, I can't even move. So embarassing.

Hmm, let's see, I guess I'll summarize my day thus far, that's always fun, eh? Scoured H&M in search of the skirt of Kyla's dreams (which was unfortunately no longer there), last Spiegelschrift (creative writing with mistake correction) course, then Doener with Emily, Freibad with Monster, Emily, and Niko, and of course my Eddie Izzard initiation. And I have once again invaded Monster's room to take advantage of her internet connection while she is out having a nice dinner with her boyfriend. Muhaha!!

**Edit: Oops, now I know why Monster and Andy thought I was crazy... Eddie Izzard only looks like the Clockwork Orange guy; it isn't actually him... I actually did a search to confirm my suspicion before I posted that, and found "Eddie Izzard" and "Clockwork Orange" together on many sites, and just assumed that meant he was who I thought he was without reading the sites. But I was wrong, and I apologize.

The explanation

2006-07-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

After talking to a few friends from home, I've realized that I need to explain the bus system a little bit so that you'll all understand the joy I experienced prior to my last post.

So there are a few buses we can take to get to the student housing area in which I live, Waldhaeuser-Ost or WHO as it is commonly called: Routes 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. The 5 takes about twice as long as any other bus, so no WHO-er really likes that route. The 3 is also a couple minutes slower than the rest, but the 2, 4, and 6 are pretty fast. The 2 would be the best by far if it weren't for the Sand Drosselweg stop, which takes about 2 extra minutes just so the bus can go up this little road to a single bus stop and then come immediately back down the road, where it has to wait for the light to turn green. Such a pain.

A couple months ago, my friend Kyla told me of a mysterious route known as the (2)E route, a route that speeds right on by Sand Drosselweg. I could hardly contain my excitement and told practically every acquaintance that crossed my path of our new discovery. Twice I saw the bus in town, but it was always going somewhere I didn't want to go... Until yesterday.

So there you have it. The joy of the 2E, explained for all of my beloved readers.

I am currently in Kylas room, taking advantage of her internet connection and catching up on some urgent internet business. Since I posted, I went to class (I think the test was ok, but we'll see next week), came back to my room to eat, went to the library to check more mails, went to international choir, and hung out and had wine with some friends. And now I'm bugging Kyla and Jeff. :) So there you have it. A day in the life of me. I've told you about everything now. Oh! Except that I wrote over another page for my essay! Yay!

Oh, and a fun link just sent to me by Brian: http://cutestbunnyever.ytmnd.com/

Good night!

The day my dream came true

2006-07-19T08:07:00.000-07:00

I just missed the 4 on my way into town today. About a minute later, an unlabeled bus pulled up, but didn't quite pull up all the way to the front, as buses normally do.
"Oh great," I thought, "another 5 trying to be sneaky. Like I can't see it because it didn't pull up all the way or something."
And of course, as usual a guy tried to board it thinking it wasn't not a 5, and the shouting ensued. Yet this time, the shouting was different.
"2E!! 2E!!" the bus driver shouted to the bewildered bus rider.
I looked over to make sure my ears weren't deceiving me, but the bus remained unlabeled. Timidly, I approached the door and confirmed, "2E?"
"Genau! 2E!" he shouted in return.
My heart skipped a beat as I boarded the bus.

Yes, that is right. I too have experienced the joys of the 2E, fulfilling one of my final Tübingen goals. My eyes nearly watered as the bus sped past Sand Drosselweg.

In other news: weird bugs.

What is up with all the weird bugs here?! Really, I don't think I can handle much more of this. Right next to me in the computer lab at this very moment is a moth so big, it looks like a branch stuck to the bottom of the window sill.

A week ago, I got stung by a bee while rowing, but my wound is still there, and I'm not sure if it's just my imagination or if this bee was truly a vicious little beast, but in my memory he has now evolved into a flesh-eating wasp-hornet-dragon-bee. I am pretty sure he took a bite out of my leg. Darn you bee thing!

I am pretty sure I have not seen the majority of bugs here ever before in my life.

So yesterday, as we were kayaking on the upper Neckar (I just realized I didn't mention this before), bugs were flying left and right, aiming for my eyes and mouth, but they didn't get the best of me, oh no! Except I think something bit my arm... Grr.

But about that kayak trip, it was so beautiful! It took up the whole afternoon, but it was a lot of fun. We took our kayaks a bit upstream from Rottenburg, and then paddled about 8 (?) kilometers downstream. There were some rapids, but nothing too crazy. A couple people fell in, but that's nothing out of the ordinary. And the scenery was so beautiful... Green fields, golden cliffs, and a castle on a hilltop -- That is the sort of thing I'll miss at home. But you all know I love Seattle... :)

Time to take a translating test. Wish me luck!

Comedian Harmonists

2006-07-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that the International Choir (sang during and watched the film "Comedian Harmonists" on Friday, and I thought it was really good! So if you have the chance to watch it (and understand German), I recommend it. I don't want to say anymore though, because I don't want to give away the ending. ;)

Ahh!! only one minute of internet time left today! Goodbye!

A page a day

2006-07-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've found that I don't get much done after a couple hours of sitting at my computer, so my new goal is a page a day for this week. That's accomplishable, right? Actually, I better make my goal 2 pages a day, to make up for whatever slacking I will do. I do that sort of thing a lot: I set my watch a bit fast to make up for my lateness, set my alarm 15 minutes early to make up for hitting snooze 2-3 times, and tell myself I need to read 100 pages one day, when it's only really necessary that I read 50. Does it actually work? Well, I don't know. Maybe not, since I know how much I actually have to do, but I tell myself it helps.

In other news, I now have 3 of 10 Freibad entrances remaining. I originally thought it would be no problem to use them all up; Jeff, Kyla, and I each bought one at the beginning of the semester, and we planned to go about once a week. I went yesterday with Niko and his roommates Chris and Lea, and it was so relaxing that we ended up staying over 4 hours... And of course after being at the Freibad for so long, any sort of productivity seems rather dull and stressful, so I had a nice relaxing evening as well. I was going to go see Kyla sing, but her performance was at 6, not 7 or 8 like I'd thought, and I didn't find that out until 6, so I'll just plan to go see her elite choir next Sunday. Oh, actually, I did clean the bathroom last night, so I guess I wasn't totally unproductive.

I'm sleepy. I've been at the library a few hours already, so it's time to go home and eat. :) Perhaps I will indulge myself in a movie this evening. Yes, that sounds nice.

Time to work

2006-07-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

I think I've actually been getting stressed out about this paper I have to write, because despite having some good ideas for it, I'd been unable to motivate myself to do any real work on it. Until today. Ok, so I still only have a page done so far, but I've prepared a bunch of notes and will write more before I quit for the day, and I also have pretty clear schedules for Sunday and Monday, so I should be able to get quite a bit done this weekend. Phew.

To do this, I skipped out on the trip to Freiburg with Kyla, Jeff, and Kara, but I think it's better this way. I didn't have any desire to see Freiburg specifically, just to hang out with my friends, but it was time for me to take some extra time out for work.

But now I've done that, so I can go play again!

Ice Cream

2006-07-14T03:01:00.000-07:00

I am now listening to the Fiddler on the Roof as I type on Toan's computer. I got up earlier than usual for a Friday to run errands with him before he left for Prague, but then he remembered he'd forgotten to email his homework in, so I get to use the internet! Hurray!

I don't have much news though...

But I did have some yummy ice cream.

I miss mint chocolate chip ice cream... and peppermint... and vanilla with brownies... and cookie dough... but instead there are other yummy options like stracciatella, pistachio, and yogurt (not frozen yogurt, but yogurt flavored ice cream)... Today I had Zuppa Inglese (or something like that... a sweet cream sort of ice cream with cherry and little chocolate bits).

Ok, enough of that. Later today I am going to a music festival here in Tuebingen, and later tonight I have a choir performance. It is pretty informal... just singing some songs at a movie showing that our choir director is involved with. And I have to work on my paper.

Gotta go.

Life in Africa?

2006-07-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I was just thinking:

I want to either volunteer in the Peace Corps. or teach English in Japan.

I now feel like there's a big hole in my life just because I don't have internet in my room, even though I will still use internet somewhere about every day.

So how could I manage to live in Africa (or other Peace Corps. place)? I highly doubt I would have internet in my home...

Then again, that would also mean I wouldn't rely on it to maintain my social connections in that region, so I wouldn't feel so disconnected without it.

Ah, maybe I could manage after all. :)

So. Full.

2006-07-13T11:38:00.000-07:00

I just got back from the Schnitzelakademie. It's real name is something like Marquedidta, but it's way too hard to remember, and everyone calls it the Schnitzel Academy anyway. So they have huge slabs of schnitzel prepared in various ways, and also huge side portions that come with the meat (huge salad or huge thing of fries...), and I am just so full. This is the third day in a row I've overeaten, and I rarely overeat... So full...

Yesterday I overate because as I was online, Addy instant messaged me and wanted to go find her last dinner in Tübingen, and I was shocked to find out that she didn't already have dinner plans, so I took the opportunity of my hour break between class and choir to go have dinner with her. And it was so filling... Noodles with a mushroom sauce... and ice cream... I was full all through choir and then went to a gathering with s'mores, and that s'more pretty much pushed me over the edge into that phase where you can't eat anymore and don't really want to move... a lathargic, sloth-like sort of mood I was in.

And the day before I was at the library at like 10 and Toan asked if I wanted to come eat something, so I said sure, but that I wouldn't need much cuz I'd already had spaghetti, but he made so much...

So much food...

But really good food...

Chores!

2006-07-12T06:53:00.000-07:00

I am starting to feel the pressure of the lack of remaining time in Germany. Today I finally gave my notice for moving out, but I still have a bunch of similar chores and schoolwork to do. But of course, all I really want to do is hang out and enjoy the nice weather and company while I still have the chance! I am having a hard time writing what I want to say now, but I was just thinking about the people I have met here, in particular my few very good friends -- you know, the ones who love you no matter what crazy stuff you do -- and a part of me is sad that I only found a few of them, but on the other hand, how many amazing bonds of that sort can you expect to develop within a year? I'm really lucky to have found such amazing people during my exchange, and I'm glad that it seems I will see most of them in the fairly near future!

Well, it's about time for class and choir. Bye --

Goodbye World Cup. Goodbye Internet.

2006-07-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

Sadness. Italy won, and I am once again without internet. Unrelated events, but both sadenning.

The hike in Bad Urach yesterday was nice though. Much nicer than the time I went in a thunderstorm. And now I feel like I have thoroughly explored the ruins, so I can contentedly move on to new adventures.

I'm really sad about this no internet thing. If there is a person addicted to internet, it's me. It doesn't help that it is my main means of communication with the outside world either.

Sieg gegen Portugal! Germany takes 3rd!

2006-07-08T22:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks to 2 sweet goals by Schweinsteiger and an Eigentor by Petit (or something like that), Germany took third place last night. To celebrate, Kyla, Jeff, and I partook in a McSundae party, inspired by the McFlurry parties of our Prague days. Good times. And it was great to see all the Germans (and friends) celebrating out by the Neckarbruecke and driving through the town, honking their horns and waving flags, even if it is a bit ridiculous. As Jeff pointed out, what do they do? Say "Oh, Germany won, let's hop in our cars and drive around." But it seems to be the way here, even though I don't think I've ever seen a similar phenomenon at home. Well, that's it for now. Going to get ready for a hike in Bad Urach.

I hold you in cupped hands and shield you from a storm...

2006-07-08T06:38:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the lack of updates. The end of this week was pretty busy for me. Adi got around 18:15 or so, so even though I hadn't found anybody to meet her at the train station, it turned out ok, because my class got out really early, and I was able to get to the station before she tried to find my room on her own. So Wednesday evening through Friday morning I showed her around Tuebingen, got caught outside and drenched in 2 thunderstorms (consecutive evenings), went to the Bad Urach waterfall, and just sat around watching movies and chatting. Didn't even have to skip my Vorlesung Thursday, because it turns out I can't get credit for it anyway, and it's not really skipping if you drop it entirely, is it? Good times overall, and Adi loved Tuebingen! :)

Yesterday I also went to Addy's farewell and grilling party, because she is leaving next Thursday, earlier than the rest of us. Sad, but at least she is from the western side of the States, so it is more likely that we will meet up again. It was raining, so we ended up grilling on the 7th floor balcony of one of the dorms here, but two Hausmeister (I don't know what we call them in English, maybe groundskeepers) came in to yell at us (and we weren't even being loud)... Around 10 or 11 the group moved to a different building, and I wanted to hang out on the balcony, because indoors was sooo hot, but a Hausmeister came there as well to tell us to be quieter. I don't get it: we were really not loud at all, and it was a Friday night. All through the week I have had my sleep disturbed by loud parties between 1 and 3 am, and I doubt the Hausmeister came to yell at them (if so, he was highly unsuccessful), but they came in to yell at us during our quiet weekend gathering. What's up with that?! Anyway, it was just too hot, so a few of us left to watch "Robocop" in my room. It was pretty good, but so bloody... Hands being shot off, blood squirting around, and some guy mutating from toxic waste... Eew.

Today I don't really feel like doing anything too productive, but I'll force myself to do some chores at least. Perhaps later I'll actually go out somewhere. For right now though, I'm enjoying listening to Keane and Norbert Leo Butz. Ah, a lazy Saturday. :)

Noooooo!!!!

2006-07-04T16:21:00.000-07:00

Germany lost?? I still can't really believe it. They have been playing so well in this tournament. Italy on the other hand... well, this is all I have to say about that:

( Secret footage of Italy's Azzuri, training for the tournament, shown to me by Almir)

Not only am I sad because Germany lost, but also because Italy won. So unfair. And did you see Odonkor (my favorite) after the game?? He looked heartbroken. I felt so bad for him... but he's only 22, he should have another shot in South Africa. For this year, I'm rooting for whoever wins tomorrow.

It's already so late, I'm just going to skip rowing tomorrow. Adi's coming from Vienna anyway, so I have to finish the rest of my homework for the week and clean up a bit. By the way (mostly directed at Kyla), I'm also not going to go to choir tomorrow, since Adi is coming at 5:45 and I won't even be able to meet her until around 6:45 or 7 when I get out of class. But we should plan a trip to the Freibad! I think I will also skip my Vorlesung on Thursday, so maybe we could go then after 2? Let me know.

Meh. It's been a long evening. Time for some sleep. Good night!

Happy 4th of July!

2006-07-04T04:16:00.000-07:00

So it's the 4th of July. And how am I celebrating my country's independence overseas, you might ask? Well, I'm going to watch Germany vs. Italy in the semi-finals of course! But in honor of our American origins, Emily and I are going to indulge ourselves in fudge-like American brownies. Oh, how I miss them... *drool*

I also met with my Romantic literature professor today to discuss a topic for my upcoming essay. Is it strange that I'm actually looking forward to it now? A sense of dread always fills my being when an essay looms in the distance, but as it draws nearer it's like a switch is turned on, and all that dread turns to excitement... There's just nothing like knowing you've written a kickass essay, you know? ^____^

To mention something totally unrelated, It looks like my dad and I are planning to go to Eastern Europe this summer. We were thinking Portugal and Spain, but we came to our senses and realized we'd probably be tired and grumpy all the time if we were stuck in a really hot place for a week and a half. So off to the East! So far the only stops we have planned are in Poland, so if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear em! We'll probably head to the Alps a bit too.

Well, now it's time for class, but before I go, I have a little something for you, just because I had so much fun finding quizzes yesterday:

Your Inner European is Swedish!

Relaxed and peaceful.
You like to kick back and enjoy life.

Who's Your Inner European?

A melancholic temperament

2006-07-03T14:49:00.000-07:00

Introspective and reflective, you think about everything and anything.
You are a soft-hearted daydreamer. You long for your ideal life.
You love silence and solitude. Everyday life is usually too chaotic for you.

Given enough time alone, it's easy for you to find inner peace.
You tend to be spiritual, having found your own meaning of life.
Wise and patient, you can help people through difficult times.

At your worst, you brood and sulk. Your negative thoughts can trap you.
You are reserved and withdrawn. This makes it hard to connect to others.
You tend to over think small things, making decisions difficult.

What Temperment Are You?

Well, there's my quiz result. Some of it's right on, like the overthinking small things bit... reserved, yes... but brooding and sulking? Not really.

Cute and cuddly?

2006-07-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

So, concerning the title of my blog, I have some questions for you. Wombats: cute and cuddly, or strange and ugly? What is your favorite animal? And when's your birthday?

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I must say I feel like I've had a pretty productive day. I finished der Sandmann, researched a bit for my essay on said book, attempted to buy tickets to the Anlagensee to watch Germany vs. Italy in the World Cup semifinals tomorrow (unfortunately they were sold out), signed up for some time at my professor's office hours (to discuss the Sandman), and am now waiting for my laundry to be done. A day both relaxing and not entirely wasted.

I think this calls for some quizzy goodness, so I'm going to find a quiz and post my results. But first, laundry awaits.

Fear

2006-07-02T10:35:00.000-07:00

I've been reading some of E. T. A. Hoffmann's Der Sandmann, and the more I read, the more I find myself actually enjoying this book. So I'm sitting here, relaxing a bit after a trip to the Freibad, eating tortellini, reading, and listening to "Glasgow Love Theme" by Craig Armstrong, and all of this has put me in a very thoughtful mood. In the book, Nathanael has just written about a horrific event in his childhood concerning the Sandman, and Clara tries to convince him not to dwell on the event anymore: "Sei ueberzeugt, dass diese fremden Gestalten nichts ueber dich vermoegen; nur der Glaube an ihre feindliche Gewalt kann sie in der Tat feindlich machen." In English: "Be assured that these strange figures have no power over you; only your belief in their adversarial force can make them truly adverse." Even though I'm a bit past that section now, this sentence has stuck with me. My mind wanders to other famous quotes with similar messages: FDR's "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" as well as Hermione's "fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself." Sure, those aren't quite the same, as the first quote doesn't actually mention fear at all, but I think the idea at the core is still similar. I haven't personally experienced anything like the Great Depression or the threat of being under the rule of an evil wizard, but I still feel those words are true. Fear's purpose is to keep harm at a distance, but dwelling on fear also hinders great accomplishments.

But right now fear's working in my favor, and I'm going to stop writing for fear of what will happen if I don't finish this book by Monday evening.

So I'm starting a new blog.

2006-07-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

Let's see where this takes me.

To start off, I saw this survey on Matt's blog that I rather liked, so here it goes:

9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

9 lasts.
-last place you were: Treff, the grocery store by WHO (where I live).
-last cigarette: Never had any.
-last beverage: Apfelschorle (apple juice mixed with carbonated water)
-last kiss: When David unexpectedly kissed me in Prague. Yah, I was shocked.
-last movie seen: Memoirs of a Geisha
-last person talked to on the phone: Emily
-last cd played: Avenue Q!
-last bubble bath: Sometime in high school, sad as that is. I love bubble baths.
-last time you cried?: Hmm. Oh yah! I cried last Friday while I was watching "Hook." I get very into movies...

8 have you evers.
-have you ever dated someone twice: Nope.
-have you ever been cheated on: I don't think so, but it's possible.
-have you ever kissed somebody and regretted it: No.
-have you ever fallen in love: Yes. We've both moved on, but I still love him.
-have you ever made out in the woods: Yep.
-have you ever been depressed: Not really, just sad.
-have you ever been drunk and threw up? No, I rarely drink much at all.
-have you ever gone to the bathroom with the door open: Yes. When I was little I almost never closed the door, and my friends and I usually went to the bathroom together.

7 states you've been to:
-Washington
-California
-Alaska
-Florida
-Ohio
-North Carolina
-Hawaii

6 things you've done today.
-Ate some cereal.
-Checked emails and chatted a bit.
-Took a shower.
-Read some of E. T. A. Hoffmann's Der Sandmann.
-Fell asleep while reading.
-Went to Treff to get food.

5 favorite things.
-Snail mail
-Having my breath taken away by something extraordinarily beautiful (a gorgeous sunset, Big Ben, the sound of pouring rain, violins...)
-Heartfelt hugs
-Kayaking
-Anything with friends

4 people you miss
I miss way more than 4 people.

3 favorite colors.
-Green
-Aquamarine
-Pink

2 things you want to do before you die.
-Teach
-Join the Peace Corps

1 thing you regret.
-No use worrying about that. I try to live life with no regrets.