TIME

Just a few personal updates, then some ponderings...

Had the best weekend ever. Visited some friends, was super active, saw lots of cool things. Made me appreciate people and life and California.

Got a flu shot today to protect me against all the ickies that seem to be abundant in planes and public transportation. My arm is kinda noodlesque as a result though. But I got a cool bandaid and sucker nonetheless.

On another note, my right hand seems to be falling asleep quite often. Don't really know what's up with that...Hopefully it doesn't develop into something too chronic. Or fatal.

Also I don't know what happened last night, but I think I was having a sleep panic attack. Had dreams that someone brought a gun to school and killed a lot of people. It made me super anxious and I couldn't sleep, and then it felt like I had water in my ear so that pestered me and kept me up too. Super weird because I never have sleeping problems. I think I'm just getting anxious about my trip and it's messing with my brain though.

Hmm it's the last day of 2008. It feels crazy to think about how quickly time passes. And I hear the older you get, the faster time seems to fly. Which makes sense if you think about it for long enough...but again, that takes time.

I had to slow down to avoid a skunk in the road tonight. The moment seemed painfully slow to me, but at the same time the skunk's heart must have been beating so fast. It's weird how things can be like that. So slow and so fast all at once.

I've been saying a lot of adieus to friends in the past couple of days. Isn't there some saying about how goodbyes aren't for forever? I know I'll only be gone for six months, and like I just said, time flies, but at the same time I think it can drag on, and magnify and warp things. Who knows where I'll really be in six months' time: mentally, physically, emotionally?

I'm getting all philosophical, so I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes by Henry Thoreau which I think perfectly describes how I feel:

"Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes."

See you next year.

Listening to: Owl City-Saltwater Room

mmm

Man, it's super windy. I kinda like the blustery cold and rain, but again I'm always a little nervous that a tree is going to fall on my car. Wish it would snow instead.

Keeping busy today by wrapping presents and baking an olallieberry pie. My mom and I went to the store earlier and bought all sorts of goodies to eat for Christmas, including some amazing cheese for fondue tonight. I insisted on buying more eggnog too.

Hope the holidays are treating everyone well. I love this time of year. I'll attach a picture later of my finished pie so you can ogle my craftiness.

peace and love


Listening to: the blustery wind

rando

So it's been a few days. Here are some things that have happened...

-finished finals, didn't fail out of college
-got my VISA=great success
-visited Marianne and Paige
-saw the fam
-moved all my crap home in preparation for departure
-hung out with some old chums

Basically it's been a good couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to Christmas. Can't believe I leave for France in two weeks. Time is flying. Here's a picture that I took in spring of some poppies. I'm gonna miss you Cali!


Coming soon: the infamous tiger pic! I just stumbled across it and it made me happy.


Listening to: the rain (!!!)

excursion+more beach

Went on a little drive down to Carpinteria. The sky had me agog it was so blue. Got my car washed even though I think it's going to rain. Came home and watched Forest Gump. Sushi later?

Tried to hug the sky.

The clouds were ridic.

Low tide.

The train was going by when I was leaving.

Squished a quarter and a nickel.

Listening to: múm-Green Grass Of Tunnel

I love this place.

Hey. So I was running some errands this afternoon but I really wanted to watch the sunset because the clouds had been really cool today and I was hoping it would be pretty. So somehow I raced home and strolled down to the beach and caught it just in time. Can't believe I'm leaving here in a couple of weeks.

I love this one especially. I think the juxtaposition of the kayaker with the oil platform is oh-so-artistic.

[Edit-when you click on the images they get HUGE and look even more spectacular. ]

Listening to: Feist-Mushaboom (one of my faves)

lots of crap

So I just finished a paper on British Romanticism, which means three finals down, two to go. I know what you're thinking: Eww romanticism? Romanticism as in hearts and love poems and icky romantic garbage? Before this quarter, that's totally what I understood romanticism to entail too. (Don't ask why I took the class.) But it turns out that romanticism isn't just about sappy depressed poets who have too much time on their hands. (Not that there is anything wrong with that.) It's more about a positive vision towards the future. A lot of work I've read is a call to society to envision a brighter and more equal future. Not just an equality between women and men, but an equality of cultures and races and all walks of life. Which I think is pretty cool. I mean, when you think about it, although the word romanticism is usually associated with the above-mentioned sappy love-garbage, it makes sense that it is also a word that simply envisions a happier, lovelier, more peaceful world. And I really like that. So thanks Professor Carlson. And thanks too to Lord Byron and Wordsworth and Percy Shelley and especially S.T. Coleridge. It's been fun. And very enlightening.

On another note, I'm super bummed because it's the annual Undie Run at UCSB. Everyone meets up at midnight at good ol' Davidson Library and takes a brisk jaunt around campus to celebrate the end of the quarter. In their undies. But seeing as I have two more finals, I'm missing out and planning on being asleep by 11 pm.

In response to Marianne's most recent post, I would like to list off a couple of things that I too am looking forward to in the upcoming week.

-Friday 7 p.m: being done with finals
-Saturday+Sunday=beer+sleep+beer+sleep
-Monday a.m: being sassy at the French Consulate/acquiring a Visa (hopefully)
-Monday p.m-Wednesday: being silly with Marianne (beach, hottub, pizookie, F21, creeping, drinking, pictures, Rubio's, etc.)
-Thursday: home, good food, eggnog, wine, eye appointment=new contacts

If all goes as planned (or follows closely to that sched) I will be the happiest person on the planet. Guaranteed.

OH also check out my new addition to my posts! I'll try to remember to include in each post what I've been listening to while I write.

Listening to: Augustana-Sweet and Low (kinda corny and poppy and weird but it makes me happy)

Oranges

Hmm call me vain if you wish, but I like this picture of me. It captures perfectly my grunge-coffee-loving-blind-as-a-bat-favorite-mug- big-grin-procrastinating personality. ALSO I'm green!

Loooove.

Go see the movie Australia. It is fantastic. Although my heart will always belong to Wolverine, Hugh Jackman does play a pretty hot "Drover." And the kid in the movie is the cutest thing I've ever seen. And his grandpa is a badass. Here is a picture to explain my love.

I'm being glared at

So I found a nook in the library which is amazing because literally it's like a madhouse in here. Dead week seriously turns people into conniving assholes who are willing to knock each other down just to get a seat with a wall plug for their computer in the library.

I'm not joking. I mean, I have to admit, I did run to the elevator and force the 17 people who were already in there to wait for me and then deal with my over-stuffed backpack being shoved into their abdomens, but I don't think it was too much to ask. But when I'm literally shoved out the doors onto the fourth floor and nearly get knocked down as the rest of the passengers rush past me, I get mad. But then I decide I should use that anger to my advantage, so I take off with the rest of the pack in what I like to call the "see who is aggressive and skilled enough to find an open seat with a wall plug" game. I was using all the classic moves. I darted between shelves to avoid the slower people in the pack. I used my intimate knowledge of the layout of the fourth floor to scope out the least commonly used seats. And then, like an angel descending from heaven, there it was: situated in a quiet nook with a breathtaking view of the Pacific off to my left and a convenient plug for my charger, was the perfect seat. I darted, I swerved, and alas, SUCCESS!

The only problem is that there is this glaring clock that keeps reminding me I have so little time to finish all the things I have to get done. But that's life I guess.

Also, what's the deal? Somehow I can take a lame-ass picture of this clock with my phone and use Bluetooth to send it wirelessly to my computer, but I can't picture message an amazingly hilarious picture to Marianne. Technology is so lame.

Also Marianne this is what I was trying to send you. Front page of the school paper. They lost their game against Berkeley. SO sad. Maybe I can console him?

blaaah

I am in a funk and my creative juices aren't flowing. Boo.

Dedicated to Miss Conner

Thought this would make you extra happy in addition to that other one.

Things we did...

We drank coffee and ate pastries.

We saw pretty buildings.

We took pictures in front of them.

We went and sat by the ocean.

We contemplated life.

We gazed off into the distance.

We got creeped on.

We watched the sunset.

polaroids!

I'm pretty sure there are probably a ton of these "transform normal pictures into pseudo-polaroids" applications online, but this is the first one I've found and it's really cool! (Also note its clever name!) Sorry Windows-users...no download for you yet.

Either Marianne or I took this picture. Either way, it reminds me of like...a great adventure to the coast. Which I guess it was. But you know what I mean. I like it.

untitled except that it is titled "untitled".

So as my previous post predicted/foreshadowed, I am currently cozied up in bed with a nice frothy glass of eggnog+rum (+ 2 ice cubes). If you haven't figured it out yet, that equation equals bliss.

I just got home from having a cozy, on-the-couch, tea-and-pumpkin-pie, and intellectual-magazine inspired chat at my chubi's home, and it made me feel so good. I missed her. Driving home from her house also made me remember why people move here and live here and raise their families here. There are rare moments when I remember that good old A-town means something to me. Not necessarily the town itself, but the memories and the people it holds. I like Autumn here. It feels cozy and homey. Maybe it's the Thanksgiving spirit that's getting to me...or maybe it's the rum in my eggnog, but I feel nostalgic and sappy. I guess at some point on Thanksgiving everyone should think about what they're thankful for.

On another note...

Who else thinks this sounds amazing?

Euphoria

WOo! I love the rain. I just walked home from class and for some reason I felt so good. I was all alone, had my iPod and umbrella, and was just jamming. Like, enjoying the rain, enjoying the coldness, enjoying the wet street, enjoying LIFE. I love how when it rains all the lights get a little fuzzy and reflect off the wet street. I feel so rockin'. I don't know how to explain it. I am euphoric and jubilant. And I'm wearing my favorite red sweater.

RAIN.

I LOVE THE RAIN. Right now, I am looking out the fourth floor of the Davidson Library on the UCSB campus. There are tall sycamore trees with some nice orange leaves on them right in front of me, and in the distance I can see the ocean, which is steely gray. The sky is about the same color, and I am expecting rain to come pouring down any minute. Can't wait to curl up with some cocoa and a good book. Or watch Harry Potter.

To add to that, this is what I do when I can't think of how to start a paper. This picture was taken at 1:30 p.m.
In the library.
Hope you enjoy.

Short Films

I stumbled upon this website via YouTube...I found a video called "Simon's Cat-TV Dinner" and it was so funny so I pursued it and it led me to this site. Watch some of the short films...they're ridiculous! I suggest "Flatworld". So creative.

Come play with me

This is the miroir d'eau in Bordeaux. It's the largest water mirror in the world, and I LOVE IT. The mirror reflects the 18th century Stock Exchange building. Its level surface holds two centimeters of water and filters through to an underground water system. Each time a water cycle is complete, the system builds up a fog bank.

I will be here in 47 days, and cannot contain myself. Come play hide-and-seek in the fog with me.

Number One

I'm new to this, but it's probably good to get my thoughts written down somewhere, so here I go.