Midnight Ponderings

Like a zombie, this blog is back from the dead

2012-02-17T00:11:00.003-06:00

Luckily, it won't come after your braaaaaaaiiiinnnsss. Stay tuned for future topics including, but not limited to:

What we can learn about contraception history from Downton Abbey
Katniss vs. Bella, the ultimate face-off
Chasing ears and ghosts: A Wild Sheep Chase Book Review
The Followers Manifesto: Dance as a team sport

Una noche con arte

2006-07-26T12:28:00.000-05:00

Last night I went with 3 friends to four friends (ha! Irony!) And we just took time to gaze at fountains, watch the old people swing dance, and climb on statues. It was a night that reminded me of Spain. The whole idea of not having anyplace in particular to go to, relaxing around a quiet city on a weeknight and just enjoying the downtown area. I love this. True, I may have started singing to myself, but I was so tired that I'm surprised I was able to make conversation. So often we have to find something to 'do' with people, that we forget how nice it is to just wander and relax.

I want my life to be like that. Taking the time to appreciate beauty and living without stress and worries.

I do love my office

2006-07-07T09:55:00.000-05:00

So, I just finished with the traditional mid-morning coffee break, which proved to be one of the most entertaining discussions I've had in a while.
Topic: How to get rid of groundhogs in your backyard.
Answers varied from getting a cat, to buying a gun and shooting them, putting poison, mothballs, old shoes, human hair, water, gasoline down the hole, running over them with your car, capturing them and dropping them in the middle of the lake (with a bag with rocks or not, depending on the critter's swimming capability), etc...
One would start and get the rest of us going with more crazy ideas.

And, break it down!

2006-07-06T11:53:00.000-05:00

I've been trying to become a more serious person and reading a bit of non-fiction, namely:
Freakonomics
Loves me, Loves me Not: The Ethics of Unrequited Love
Just Six Numbers: Deep Forces that Shape the Universe
Stiff: The Curious Life of Cadavers (I got weird looks for this one)

My roomies and I are sort of reading around each other, with a pile of books under our coffee table.

I rode horses with Bethany over the weekend. Unfortunately, I was placed on the excitable Sheeka and the silly neighbors decided that that moment would be a good time to light off fireworks. Not a good combination, so we got ice cream instead. I wish summer were more relaxing with good friends and less work/cleaning. Ah well.

For the fourth, my house took half of our brother house to go to fireworks. (The other half deciding that fireworks weren't worth watching if you didn't have a girlfriend to snuggle with. Bah!) We brought our own citronella candle and chocolate chip cookies, and just played with cameras and chatted.

But, Amy and I have been going to a yoga class lately, and I rather like it. Of course the is always the pre-class laziness, knowing that while I feel too tired to go, I will feel better after it, sort of issue.

And my car is now fixed, maybe. It quit on me last night coming out of Subway. I was not happy. We just paid a ton of money to get the dang thing fixed and it starts acting up again? ARGH!

I have a wedding coming up. To which I am not allowed to bring a date and will be chained to the guestbook, against my will. Note: this may result in me leaving early regardless of my sister being a bridesmaid. Weddings always kinda depress me, especially once the ceremony is over, the dinner is over and there's not much left to do but talk with people I never spoke to in high school. Or worse, their parents. At least with a date I would have had a guaranteed dance partner, since I know who will be coming and know that it will be awkward jr. high separation of the sexes again.

I really miss Spain. A lot. I want to go back.
I'm looking into going to Eire for grad school, but that's still a ways off. Might go to England for interim though.

And here in Spain I am a Spaniard..

2006-05-11T05:18:00.000-05:00

Currently Reading: Through Painted Deserts by Don Miller (very good, read it!)

And now to clear up some rumors.
1. I do not have a boyfriend. The spanish guy (Miguel) is just a friend, and I´m coming home in a few days. I´m not going to start something just as I´m leaving. I don´t work that way.
2. I am returning may 18th. I´ll be around for 2 weeks and then be down south for the summer working. If you want to see me, you prolly have ways of getting in touch. Utilize them, or I guarentee that I probably won´t see you.

Props if you can name the song reference the title refers to.

Ya know, I was talking with my host mother last night, and she mentioned how when I started the semester I was so stressed about not having a place to live, or a job or being able to express myself in the language or anything. There were some really tough nights when I did feel like everything was falling apart. But, if there´s one thing I´m starting to learn, its that God works things out better than I ever could. And maybe if I trust him, I wouldn´t get so stressed and make my body suffer the physical consequences of stress.

Spanish side coming out

2006-05-09T07:07:00.000-05:00

Sorry, I just need to write this one in Spanish. I can´t think in English anymore.

Estoy enfadada con Miguel. Él me dijo que él puede ayudarme con mi trabajo escrito. He llamado él cuatro veces, sin contestar. Nunca voy a creerle cuando me dice, sí, te llamo luego. Hombre. Estoy enfadada tambien porque no tengo mucho tiempo aquí y los preersores no ayudan a nadie. Es como los sólo quieren que memorizemos sin comprendemos.

No quiero volver a los problemas y hombres raros de allá. No sé. He cambiado mucho en mi vida, y no supiera si los van a aceptarme una vez más.

"Y ¿que le voy hacer? si el veneno de la música llevo en mi piel. Y ¿que le voy hacer? si otra cosa en la vida yo ya no sé hacer. Yo te juro que te adoro, pero...."

Tengo buenas ideas para subir a las montañas de Segovia y nunca volveré.

Spanish boyfriend?

2006-05-02T14:19:00.000-05:00

So, yeah, David today was teasing me about having to call Miguel. Because I could go to volleyball and protect Stacey from all the spanish boys (and the Brazilians!) But then David was like, no way you´ve got a spanish boyfriend.
Miguel? He´s smart, and we talk about music and philosophy and politics and equality and I love it. The exact type of guy that Stacey is intimidated by. Her boy, Keller, is a cute party boy who works with motorcycles. The exact type of guy I would be bored by. Interesting how it works out. Stacey beats me for looks, but we are different breeds entirely.

Greek Islands, Lisbon intrigues and Brazilian boys

2006-04-27T04:55:00.000-05:00

So I went to the Greek islands for break. Fabulous, is really all I can say. The trip exceeded my expectations, and moreover, since we were with a group, we didn´t get sick of each other like everybody else did.

I met a guy on the last night in our hostel in Athens, from Lisbon. A computer programmer, around mid thirties, and a genuinely nice guy. Been a while since I met one of those, nice guy, not computer nerd. We hit it off, but unlike the canadian party girls, nothing physical happened. We talked and then said goodbye. Maybe I´ll see him again someday, but I´m not holding my breath.

I´m hanging out with Miguel tonight at the concert. We´ll see what happens with that.
Then I´m going dancing with the Brazilians and my girls.
I feel like there´s two halves of me. One that enjoys going to the discoteca at 5am, and the other that likes opera and ballet and wants solidarity.

Meh, and now onto projects, papers and saying goodbyes. I really have no time to worry about guys and their problems.

By the way, new favorite series: Los Hombres de Paco. It´s sweet, hilarious, and just fun.

Valenciano, Catalan, Euskera, German and Hungarian

2006-03-06T04:46:00.001-06:00

So I am chilling in my house the other night, flipping through channels and what do I see, but the original Xena and Hercules that just happen to be flipping hilarious. So I´m tuning in, and realizing that I´m understanding about 30% of this. Considering how long I´ve been studying, this should NOT be the case. I ask my host mother, and lo and behold, it is in Valenciano. A dialect my host sis tried to teach me that would have absolutely no value once I return to the rest of the Spanish speaking world.
There´s also another one in Catalan, which is this crazy mix of french and Spanish and Latin.
But the killer is Euskera. When we went to Bilbao for the weekend, we see all the signs in this crazy language.
Eric: ¨That language has the most liberal use of the letter X I´ve ever seen!¨
It isn´t descended from Latin or Greek or German. It´s from the ancient Iberians, we think. Possibly earlier.
Last night I hung out with my German friends and the token hungarian, and as sweet as they are, when they speak German to each other, concentration will not help comprehension.
I came to this country to learn Spanish and end up confused by every other language.
Languages, arghh!!!!

Boys, we love you, but don´t even try to understand us, sorry.(http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=566)

The Night of the Living Cucaracha

2006-02-14T13:06:00.001-06:00

Another Valentine´s Day, another heart broken. So, I guess its better to find out that Bob isn't that into it BEFORE I date him, but still.
Carrie: "My problem is, ... I always pick the wrong guys."
But, I have 2 valentines! Ha! Pam AND Christine! Rock! Plus, I bought flowers and candy for my host family (luckily, because they bought stuff for me).

So the other night I´m in the bathroom minding my own business, when suddenly out of the toilet paper holder scuttles this big black thing. I´m not talking oh it was a beetle, I´m talking this was the size of a hamster. Natural reaction: I scream. I ask my mamá what the translation for cockroach is, and she sprays it with some stuff. Then, because it still doesn´t die, she takes the 6 lb. (who knows what the thing weighs in kg) cat and sics her on the bug. Shut the door, and we all start laughing and singing "La Cucaracha"

But, I may be going to Bilbao this weekend which makes me excited. It´s so different from the rest of Spain. They are very similar to the British isles.

That might make up for the fact that I won´t have time to visit more than one country over spring break. So, I am going to Greece, birthplace of human thought and reason. A few days in Athens, a few days visiting the islands, being Greek.

I´m reading Blue Like Jazz right now, and despite all the hype that surrounds it, I really love it. I was reading the part about tithing and its so hard right now. I am not working right now, and since I have to plan for the entire semester, and can´t be at home to interview for jobs. Frustrating, and definitely a growing experience.
But, I realized today as I was walking back to my flat, I love this country. Love, love love it! I may never come home!

Methinks that this blog

2005-12-14T09:53:00.000-06:00

Won't be much different from my other ones. I could be wrong, but I always feel awkward creating one of these.

Hahaha, I love you Questionable Content. It seems like everytime I go through exams, I find a new amazing webcomic that lets me procrastinate. But, I think I just found a new idea for a music video.... mwhahaha

Who'll be your surfer girl?

2005-08-18T10:58:00.000-05:00

Last night I entertained some friends at the apartment. It was really quite a bit of fun, since we sat around eating cookies and milk and comparing dreams and goals. One of them will be leaving soon for China, and it's like an extension of graduation: we are growing up and being flung to the 4 corners of the earth. We no longer live in a world where you grow up with and stay with the same community your entire life.
It's like when I went to Alaska, everyone asked me why. I respond with, "Why Michigan? I have no family here, I have family there. We're here for my mom's job, not for any other reason."
But I love the globalization. I love being able to chat online with my friends in Switzerland and Germany and Grenada. It's beautiful.
And after I go to Spain, I too will be able to explore other cultures, and maybe reconnect with that portion of my ancestry. I love Latin America, but I just wish that the situation down there wasn't so fragile and riddled with dictators, oppressing the people.
"When we flew into Spain for the first time, I had this feeling that I was coming home." - Mom