20.5.06

The word "movie" is a very weird word indeed. Why don't we write it "movy" in the singular form?

Weekend seminars with the VdDAC do wonders for my German.

Shouldn't we be allowed to have more than personality? It isn't really a disorder. I guess what I'm trying to say is I have different moods, ranging from happy social butterfly to extreme asocial, and I think with that range, one should start using different personalities to describe it, instead of just "moods".

AHHHH!

18.5.06

As planned, I cleaned my room today. With the help of the Barenaked Ladies and a (very unusual) desire to clean, I really did a number on it - I even polished the linoleum floors. I put out a rug that had previously been stored under my bed, along with some light curtains, and I like the result - it makes the room warmer.

Of course, the cleaner I use smells good coming out of the bottle, but 10 minutes later the chemicals get to you, and you can think is "Man - I really need to get that smell OUT of here." So my window's wide open and inviting the breeze in (but not bugs. Bugs are not invited.)

As I'm sitting here, I'm looking over my fall quarter schedule, making changes and shoving my physics quiz section around to make room for a German proctoring class. I look at my visual schedule, and wince at what this will do to my Wednesdays - four straight hours of class? And then a lab in the afternoon? Grr. But then I think of what those empty spaces on that visual schedule are going to mean. Eating in the HUB, talking to friends in the Quad, reading the Daily, working in a lab, drinking coffee around campus... and then of course, there are the empty spaces not shown on my schedule. Ah, Seattle nightlife, and especially in the fall: football games, Apple Cup, the bars, the house parties, the movie nights, the friends, the fun, the laughter.

I look out the window. Grey clouds partially obscure a demure pink-colored sky, and somewhere the sun is sinking below the horizon. A breeze nudges its way past my "new" curtain and greets my cheek, and all at once I feel like I'm back in Seattle in the autumn. A quick sensation, lasting no more than a fraction of a second. But it was a nice one nonetheless.

Maybe it was just all the reminders of life at UW - reviewing my schedule, running degree audits, listening to Death Cab. But I think it's telling me that I will be ready to go back and resume life in Seattle - as scary as it may sound to me right now.

15.5.06

Somehow the weekend flew past, even though I guess today is still the 5th day of mine (I know, I know, I'm spoiled), and I have a lot to read for class tomorrow. Class is at two. I should be able to get it done, but it's gonna be close.

The stressful homework situation mentioned above happens to me nearly every day in the States. But somehow, here, this struggle between one full day and the things that need to get done within its borders occurs maybe 5 times a quarter.

I'm so screwed when I get back to UW and actually have to do work - all the time!

14.5.06

Something amazing happened to me today.

The day was a pleasant one, starting with a birthday brunch for a friend and progressing to an afternoon boat ride on the Neckar river, complete with sun and sangria. We returned the boat to the rental place and took a position on the bank of the river, mostly because we weren't ready to leave yet, and plus we had sangria left to finish off. After almost an hour, we decided it was time to go home. So we packed up our stuff and got on the bus back to our dorms on the hill.

At home, I come in the door and decide to check my email. Since it's a beautiful day outside, and we still have a few more hours of daylight (as I write this, it's only 7.20 pm), I think that a walk might be in order, but of course for that I'll want my iPod with me. Usually, I've got the thing plugged in and charging, but as I look over to its usual spot on my desk, I realize I must have forgotten to plug it in yesterday, because it's not there.

I look in my purse, in my backpack, on top of my mini-fridge. All the usual places. Not there. Hmm. This happened to me the other day, and I freaked out just a little bit, before realizing that I left it in my cabinet in the kitchen while I was cooking. So this time around, I thought maybe it was in the cabinet again, although I honestly did not remember putting it there. So I went to the kitchen.

And lo and behold, my iPod is sitting on the windowsill. ON THE WINDOWSILL.

It had been there almost a full 24 hours. Just chilling in the kitchen. I had probably left it either on the counter or on the table, so it hadn't migrated far. Just to the windowsill.

What kind of awesome country am I living in, where my iPod is actually safer in the community kitchen than it would be in my own dorm room in Seattle?

All I can say is, thank God for the honor system, for small university towns, and above all, thank God for the Germans.