Feb. 26th, 2009 at 01:55 am
I finally caught up on sleep, though I have undermined that by staying up late tonight.
I really didn't do much today- went to the gym, ate, took a shower, went to the library, did some maths, tooled around a bit. You know. The usual semi-productive stuff . There was an excellent program on at the gym that I watched when I was on the treadmill, about 2002's worst music videos.
I would like to reiterate how weird it is that the library is a social place on this campus- most people go there to run into people. Even me- it's a large portion of the reason I don't use the computer lab in the Queen's building. No one is in there, because no one is in there. Talk about your vicious cycles! I had a quick chat with USC Kevin and Dave on my way out of the library, since they were just getting in. The pair of them are so funny, but for no particular reason; it makes them fun to run into.
I had a chat with Sisi and Tien about the merits of frozen pizza- inexplicably delicious and oh-so-quick to make, especially compared to their (more appetizing and healthier) homemade veggie stir fries. I made pork with veg last night, so that counts for today too, right?
Caitlin, Vanessa and I met to try to book tickets to see a show at the Globe, but couldn't get a hold of Kev and Hil, so we ended up hanging out and chatting and getting hyper. Caitlin's chair is broken, which our little goldfish Vanessa kept forgetting, so she would lean back in it and end up going so far that she thought she was going to tip over, and pawed at the air like a cat. It was excellent to watch.
I spent most of the evening working on my application for the internship I mentioned in an earlier post. It's really fun, all I need to do now is actually do the video bits I have planned out and edit it up. That'll be my Sunday project, since I should finish my maths homework pretty easily tomorrow morning.You will all get to see the finished project, never fear :-) ESPECIALLY since I had to spend a dollar on a karaoke track for "Can't Touch This." Oh, now you're interested ;-)
I also got my computer working long enough to Skype Meg,and also got to talk to Vitty, Amy and Kimmy, and Mander on AIM, which was all very nice, especially since I was bored and getting homesick earlier in the day.
I passed a lot of tours on campus today, which was cool! I hope they do more tomorrow, I might follow along and pretend to be a prospective student, see what they tell them.
On an unrelated note, I found the eight pence Vanessa hid in a corner on my desk last night, and was going to try to return it to her bag, but left it in my room. I will get her back stealthily soon, mwahaha.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
We're those people in the library now.
Feb. 25th, 2009 at 12:22 am
I managed to get up and out of my room this morning before the cleaning lady even knocked on my door, goooo me! I spent a bit of time doing some computery stuff in the library, was able to take my time a bit at the gym, then came back to my room. My computer decided to be nice (like it is at the moment) so I was able to do some more fun online things, shower, and eat a yummy yummy pizza for lunch. Sainsburys frozen pizzas are inexplicably delicious, and the personal pan sized one is only 46p. I love it!
I realized I spent a bit too long taking my time earlier in the day, as I no longer had sufficient time to nap, so I did a bit more stuff in the library (uploading pictures and whatnot) and went to class, where I was very sleepy.
I ran into Vanessa in the library after class. We kept hitting "reply all" to a thread on facebook that goes out to all our friends, so occasionally in the midst of making plans, there will be me saying, "I see you!" or her going, "I can hear you coughing." Having a broken computer is a bit more fun when someone else has a broken computer as well.
I made pork chops for the Americans for dinner, and it was delicioussss. (The recipe uses soy sauce, sesame seeds, and brown sugar. It's awesome.) Kev and Hilary brought nan to eat with it as well, and there were mashed potatoes and corn. It was so good! Then we went back to Caitlin's apartment to look at what days we might want to book Rom&Jul tickets at the Globe, and made and ate brownies. There was much hyperness while we ate brownies, we might've scared Caitlin's flatmate out of the kitchen.
After that, we took some time to watch fun youtube videos (I finally saw Jizz in My Pants, and some of us shared Moskau and Tunak Tunak Tun, and they finally understand my text message tone now), and then Velossa and I went to Budgens to top up our phones, and then chilled in the library until they literally yelled at us to leave.
On our way back, we saw USC Kevin in his kitchen window, so we stopped to say hi. His flatmate Dave came out to talk with us as well, and they decided to use the strawberry wafers I gave them to eat their soups, then used their pots and spoons to do an impromptu percussion show. Vanessa had been telling me how they are very much like Mr. Wilson on Home Improvement, and honestly, I have to agree. When they're home, they're hysterical, and it's lots of fun to stop by their window and talk.
It was nice to have a pretty chill day, but I'm thinking I might need to get back to work tomorrow.
Also, I booked train tickets for me and Ha to visit Carly in Wales, so that's exciting!!
Also also, I got double-carded at Hayfields last night. I showed my ID to get my handstamp to get in, and then the bartender made me show my ID again when I was buying my one drink of the night. I felt sad, since I'm almost 21 and I'm getting carded for an 18+ drinking age. I'll appreciate it when I'm a bit older ;-)
I managed to get up and out of my room this morning before the cleaning lady even knocked on my door, goooo me! I spent a bit of time doing some computery stuff in the library, was able to take my time a bit at the gym, then came back to my room. My computer decided to be nice (like it is at the moment) so I was able to do some more fun online things, shower, and eat a yummy yummy pizza for lunch. Sainsburys frozen pizzas are inexplicably delicious, and the personal pan sized one is only 46p. I love it!
I realized I spent a bit too long taking my time earlier in the day, as I no longer had sufficient time to nap, so I did a bit more stuff in the library (uploading pictures and whatnot) and went to class, where I was very sleepy.
I ran into Vanessa in the library after class. We kept hitting "reply all" to a thread on facebook that goes out to all our friends, so occasionally in the midst of making plans, there will be me saying, "I see you!" or her going, "I can hear you coughing." Having a broken computer is a bit more fun when someone else has a broken computer as well.
I made pork chops for the Americans for dinner, and it was delicioussss. (The recipe uses soy sauce, sesame seeds, and brown sugar. It's awesome.) Kev and Hilary brought nan to eat with it as well, and there were mashed potatoes and corn. It was so good! Then we went back to Caitlin's apartment to look at what days we might want to book Rom&Jul tickets at the Globe, and made and ate brownies. There was much hyperness while we ate brownies, we might've scared Caitlin's flatmate out of the kitchen.
After that, we took some time to watch fun youtube videos (I finally saw Jizz in My Pants, and some of us shared Moskau and Tunak Tunak Tun, and they finally understand my text message tone now), and then Velossa and I went to Budgens to top up our phones, and then chilled in the library until they literally yelled at us to leave.
On our way back, we saw USC Kevin in his kitchen window, so we stopped to say hi. His flatmate Dave came out to talk with us as well, and they decided to use the strawberry wafers I gave them to eat their soups, then used their pots and spoons to do an impromptu percussion show. Vanessa had been telling me how they are very much like Mr. Wilson on Home Improvement, and honestly, I have to agree. When they're home, they're hysterical, and it's lots of fun to stop by their window and talk.
It was nice to have a pretty chill day, but I'm thinking I might need to get back to work tomorrow.
Also, I booked train tickets for me and Ha to visit Carly in Wales, so that's exciting!!
Also also, I got double-carded at Hayfields last night. I showed my ID to get my handstamp to get in, and then the bartender made me show my ID again when I was buying my one drink of the night. I felt sad, since I'm almost 21 and I'm getting carded for an 18+ drinking age. I'll appreciate it when I'm a bit older ;-)
Last leg of papers, movies, and Hayfields revisited.
Monday
I almost snoozed right through my Diff Eq lecture, but managed to think to check what time it was a couple minutes after I'd last hit snooze... it was ten to, just enough time to leap from my bed, power shower, throw on my flipflops, chuck an orange in my bag, and dash to class. Unfortunately for me, that meant I only had an orange to eat and flipflops to wear for the subsequent seven plus hours.
After Diff Eq, I met Vanessa in the library, quickly finished my Actuarial coursework and ran that to the Maths building, then returned to our computers. I had just whipped up my bibliographies for my papers and reformatted both a bit, and was working on my photo pages for my Architecture paper when... the fire alarm went off. The library was full (as lots of people had papers due) and everyone just sat there for a minute, glancing around, thinking, 'WAIT. Do I really have to leave?' Visions of my leftover quesidilla and refried beans from the night before were slipping from my mind, replaced by the gnawing hunger that this bell signaled. I was so close to being done, and almost had time to dash back to my room and eat before my one o'clock class! But alas, we had to shut down our computers and evacuate. Word on the street is that a student pulled the alarm. They are not on my good list.
Van and I went to the Engineering building, but I couldn't use the computers there since I'm not an engineer, so I had to dash next door to Queens. I just managed to finish fixing everything up and print off my photo pages when I needed to run to class. I'd been hoping to completely print my papers, but no luck. After my two hour architecture class, I went back to the library (completely unburnt due to the fact that there WASN'T A FIRE), finished my papers, submitted them on WEBCT, printed them off, submitted my hard copies, and then entered into an enraptured bliss as I was finally, finally able to eat. I love food so, so much. Prior to my first meal of the day (seven hours after I got up) I had been such a grumpalump.
I had time to relax a little bit before Actuarial, then met Vanessa outside my lecture hall so we could go see Confessions of a Shopaholic, which was so cute! However, the combination of the pair of us hanging out together and being overtired was ridiculous. She 'owes' me 8p since I let her print off two sheets the other night, and remembered while we were waiting for the movie to start. Now, I don't mind money, but honestly, I don't want coppers. They just take up space in my wallet and I almost never need to use them, so I'd rather not have them. Suffice to say, there was lots of, 'Hey Emily, can I give you eight pence?' My responses got more ridiculous, escalating from 'I don't want your eight pence,' as did her offers, until finally I exclaimed, 'I do not want them in a car, I do not want them near or far! I do not want them here or there, I do not want them anywhere! I do not want eight pence and s***, I do not want them, not a bit!'
Haider, when he met up with us to go to Hayfields, decided we weren't allowed to drink tonight and felt like he needed to catch up a bit to get on our crazy level.
Rewinding back to the movie, there was a funny moment when this guy pushed past us to go further into our row... twenty minutes from the end of the movie. And he hadn't been sitting there before. V and I were super confused, and then three to five minutes later he exited the row and rushed up the aisle. He was in the wrong theater. And it took him five minutes to figure out that the chick flick we were watching wasn't his intended film.
Fastforwarding back to Hayfields, that was pretty fun. We played a bit of pool, and I met some new people and talked to them; two of Damien's friends got really excited that I've got a chunk of Irish blood, as they're both proud to have Irish parents (though they were born&raised in Britain).
I almost snoozed right through my Diff Eq lecture, but managed to think to check what time it was a couple minutes after I'd last hit snooze... it was ten to, just enough time to leap from my bed, power shower, throw on my flipflops, chuck an orange in my bag, and dash to class. Unfortunately for me, that meant I only had an orange to eat and flipflops to wear for the subsequent seven plus hours.
After Diff Eq, I met Vanessa in the library, quickly finished my Actuarial coursework and ran that to the Maths building, then returned to our computers. I had just whipped up my bibliographies for my papers and reformatted both a bit, and was working on my photo pages for my Architecture paper when... the fire alarm went off. The library was full (as lots of people had papers due) and everyone just sat there for a minute, glancing around, thinking, 'WAIT. Do I really have to leave?' Visions of my leftover quesidilla and refried beans from the night before were slipping from my mind, replaced by the gnawing hunger that this bell signaled. I was so close to being done, and almost had time to dash back to my room and eat before my one o'clock class! But alas, we had to shut down our computers and evacuate. Word on the street is that a student pulled the alarm. They are not on my good list.
Van and I went to the Engineering building, but I couldn't use the computers there since I'm not an engineer, so I had to dash next door to Queens. I just managed to finish fixing everything up and print off my photo pages when I needed to run to class. I'd been hoping to completely print my papers, but no luck. After my two hour architecture class, I went back to the library (completely unburnt due to the fact that there WASN'T A FIRE), finished my papers, submitted them on WEBCT, printed them off, submitted my hard copies, and then entered into an enraptured bliss as I was finally, finally able to eat. I love food so, so much. Prior to my first meal of the day (seven hours after I got up) I had been such a grumpalump.
I had time to relax a little bit before Actuarial, then met Vanessa outside my lecture hall so we could go see Confessions of a Shopaholic, which was so cute! However, the combination of the pair of us hanging out together and being overtired was ridiculous. She 'owes' me 8p since I let her print off two sheets the other night, and remembered while we were waiting for the movie to start. Now, I don't mind money, but honestly, I don't want coppers. They just take up space in my wallet and I almost never need to use them, so I'd rather not have them. Suffice to say, there was lots of, 'Hey Emily, can I give you eight pence?' My responses got more ridiculous, escalating from 'I don't want your eight pence,' as did her offers, until finally I exclaimed, 'I do not want them in a car, I do not want them near or far! I do not want them here or there, I do not want them anywhere! I do not want eight pence and s***, I do not want them, not a bit!'
Haider, when he met up with us to go to Hayfields, decided we weren't allowed to drink tonight and felt like he needed to catch up a bit to get on our crazy level.
Rewinding back to the movie, there was a funny moment when this guy pushed past us to go further into our row... twenty minutes from the end of the movie. And he hadn't been sitting there before. V and I were super confused, and then three to five minutes later he exited the row and rushed up the aisle. He was in the wrong theater. And it took him five minutes to figure out that the chick flick we were watching wasn't his intended film.
Fastforwarding back to Hayfields, that was pretty fun. We played a bit of pool, and I met some new people and talked to them; two of Damien's friends got really excited that I've got a chunk of Irish blood, as they're both proud to have Irish parents (though they were born&raised in Britain).
Turned on some music to start my day...
Feb. 22nd, 2009 at 11:39 pm
Woke up, went to the computer lab in Queen's... it was kinda eerie, there was only one other person there, and two security guards in their office to let people in and out of the building (I literally had to ring a bell to get let out). Otherwise, it was empty. I managed to finish reading my stuff, then decided to go to the gym and eat a little. The gym took longer than I anticipated because I got caught up watching a re-run of Ant and Dec's Saturday night show thing, they were having a contest to see whose pop song would get the most downloads. I ended up running a lot longer than I meant to since I had to wait through a commercial break to see their song and dance, but it was totally worth it.
After I showered, I went to the library where I typed up my outline format, and spent a lot of time traipsing across the aisle to tell Vanessa "important" things. (Okay, I'll be honest, I was being ADD). We decided that when we got kicked out of the library at a quarter to seven, we would go have quesidillas. So we did, and it was delicious.
Since then, I have been shut up in the Queen's computer lab again, and FINALLY finished paper number two. I just need to write up the bibliographies tomorrow, and make sure the papers look pretty for when I print them out. HUZZAH!
Also, Vanessa found me my dream internship, which I am not going to get. Let's just say that it would entail having to go to Fiji, Australia, India, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, Germany, Russia, Denmark, and a couple other places, and being forced to blog about the trip, and take photos and video. I'm still going to apply, because that would be effing AWESOME. I wouldn't make any money, but it would be a great experience and all expenses paid. They only take two people (increased odds from the last two years- it used to be just one!), so tomorrow I'm going to start writing my song about how I would be awesome at the job. Let's face it, I SO would be.
Sorry this wasn't very interesting, I am braindead so all of the funny things have flown my mind, and I am left in a state of ---------. Just like that.
I sort've want to play frisbee, but it got colder again. Boo.
Plus I'm tired.
Woke up, went to the computer lab in Queen's... it was kinda eerie, there was only one other person there, and two security guards in their office to let people in and out of the building (I literally had to ring a bell to get let out). Otherwise, it was empty. I managed to finish reading my stuff, then decided to go to the gym and eat a little. The gym took longer than I anticipated because I got caught up watching a re-run of Ant and Dec's Saturday night show thing, they were having a contest to see whose pop song would get the most downloads. I ended up running a lot longer than I meant to since I had to wait through a commercial break to see their song and dance, but it was totally worth it.
After I showered, I went to the library where I typed up my outline format, and spent a lot of time traipsing across the aisle to tell Vanessa "important" things. (Okay, I'll be honest, I was being ADD). We decided that when we got kicked out of the library at a quarter to seven, we would go have quesidillas. So we did, and it was delicious.
Since then, I have been shut up in the Queen's computer lab again, and FINALLY finished paper number two. I just need to write up the bibliographies tomorrow, and make sure the papers look pretty for when I print them out. HUZZAH!
Also, Vanessa found me my dream internship, which I am not going to get. Let's just say that it would entail having to go to Fiji, Australia, India, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, Germany, Russia, Denmark, and a couple other places, and being forced to blog about the trip, and take photos and video. I'm still going to apply, because that would be effing AWESOME. I wouldn't make any money, but it would be a great experience and all expenses paid. They only take two people (increased odds from the last two years- it used to be just one!), so tomorrow I'm going to start writing my song about how I would be awesome at the job. Let's face it, I SO would be.
Sorry this wasn't very interesting, I am braindead so all of the funny things have flown my mind, and I am left in a state of ---------. Just like that.
I sort've want to play frisbee, but it got colder again. Boo.
Plus I'm tired.
It's a lovely day today...
Feb. 22nd, 2009 at 10:36 am
I slept in until I felt like getting up yesterday, which was totally wonderful. After managing to get the pictures I didn't have backed up off of my computer and onto a flash drive, as well as the music that isn't on my iPod, I took a trip to the Senate House Library again to try to get the last book I wanted one last time, but it turns out it's being kept off site, so I left without it.
Since it was a beautiful, somewhat warm and sunny day, I took my time walking through Russell Square and munching on some snacks. I passed a wedding party taking their pictures near the cafe and trellis, it was really cute and I was glad they had nice weather.
Whitechapel Tube station was inaccessible yesterday, which was unfortunate since I really wanted to go grocery shopping. So I took the underground up to Mile End, figuring I'd just hop on a bus. I emerged from the station just in time to see a 25 bus pulling away, so boogied to the next stop hoping to catch the next 205 from there... which, of course, I missed by half a minute once more. It was okay though, I was enjoying being able to stand out in the sun with my sunglasses on.
Grocery shopping on a Saturday afternoon is a terrible idea.
I went to the library with the intention of getting some work done, but it closed at five. That's really unfortunate. I went to the gym straight afterwards, and just managed to squeeze my workout in before they closed as well. It's so weird that stuff closes so early on this campus.
At my friend's flat later on, I met a few British girls and we all watched a lot of youtube videos- especially anime ones, which was pretty fun. We also watched a British stand up act (about an hour long) which was fantastic.
Re-discovery of the day: BC webcams.
Random thought from Friday: I really like that when you get your health check here, they give you a bag that has some information leaflets, a flash drive, condoms, and lube.
Today: I will be working like a madwoman to finish my second paper by midnight, when the last computer lab closes.
I slept in until I felt like getting up yesterday, which was totally wonderful. After managing to get the pictures I didn't have backed up off of my computer and onto a flash drive, as well as the music that isn't on my iPod, I took a trip to the Senate House Library again to try to get the last book I wanted one last time, but it turns out it's being kept off site, so I left without it.
Since it was a beautiful, somewhat warm and sunny day, I took my time walking through Russell Square and munching on some snacks. I passed a wedding party taking their pictures near the cafe and trellis, it was really cute and I was glad they had nice weather.
Whitechapel Tube station was inaccessible yesterday, which was unfortunate since I really wanted to go grocery shopping. So I took the underground up to Mile End, figuring I'd just hop on a bus. I emerged from the station just in time to see a 25 bus pulling away, so boogied to the next stop hoping to catch the next 205 from there... which, of course, I missed by half a minute once more. It was okay though, I was enjoying being able to stand out in the sun with my sunglasses on.
Grocery shopping on a Saturday afternoon is a terrible idea.
I went to the library with the intention of getting some work done, but it closed at five. That's really unfortunate. I went to the gym straight afterwards, and just managed to squeeze my workout in before they closed as well. It's so weird that stuff closes so early on this campus.
At my friend's flat later on, I met a few British girls and we all watched a lot of youtube videos- especially anime ones, which was pretty fun. We also watched a British stand up act (about an hour long) which was fantastic.
Re-discovery of the day: BC webcams.
Random thought from Friday: I really like that when you get your health check here, they give you a bag that has some information leaflets, a flash drive, condoms, and lube.
Today: I will be working like a madwoman to finish my second paper by midnight, when the last computer lab closes.
Fasnacht!
Feb. 20th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
Tuesday, 17 February
So it took three trains to get to Luzern- Venice to Milan, Milan to somewhere in Switzerland, then a quick train to Luzern. It was snowing at the last station and on the last train, and Haider couldn't get over the snow. He kept asking me if it was surreal or what, so I just smiled so as not to rain on his parade that really, I'm kind of used to snow.
From Milan to Switzerland, we all got a bit stir-crazy. Haider, Kev and Hilary were all listening to the same song and dancing, and Caitlin ended up getting caged in by suitcases, and I really did NOT want to study. There's a lovely series of photos featuring varying stages of maths hair, and Caitlin in a cage. (When Vanessa moved a water bottle that was 'barricading' her in: "Give me my cage back, bitch!")
We also had an interesting moment upon arrival, trying to buy bus tickets from the machine, when we'd all just got 100's out. Then there was a miscount with the tickets, so I got to sprint back (since I had the least luggage) and buy another one and sprint back to the bus before it left. We also got very vague directions to our hostel- 'Go down the hill, up the hill then down, if you hit the lake you've gone too far.' We ended up running into two girls on their way back to the hostel who walked us the rest of the way there, which was good, because it was dark, cold, and wet snow.
Also, the machine at the hostel ate my internet money. Not cool.
Wednesday, 18 February
Vanessa and I got up early, and she went to the train station with me so I could put my stuff in a locker and figure out what time I needed to catch a train and how to get to Bastel's airport once I got off said train.
We met up with everyone else (and Kevin's friend Katie, who met up with us at the hostel) in the train station, where a walking tour left a bit before ten. It was very, very cold. My toes were not happy with me, even with a double layer of socks. Apparently, they thought I should've tripled up.
We saw most of the big stuff in Luzern on the tour, including a Jesuit Church, Chapel Bridge, and the medieval village. Kev pointed out that it got to be a bit like the National Gallery by the end- a lot of the same stuff over again, and our guide felt like discussing all of it in detail even though we were all obviously quite happy with the sparknotes. She kept asking me about saints's names and whatnot when she found out I go to a Jesuit university. I suppose since Jesuits are outlawed in Switzerland, she didn't understand that a Jesuit education =/> full theological knowledge. Haider was also a bit confused about Jesuits, he thought there were just a few of them and asked where they went after they got kicked out of Switzerland, not realizing that they could've easily dispersed to almost anywhere. The woman also made me a bit upset when she told me I was silly for leaving before their Carnival started the next morning, and not going skiing, but Hilary came to the rescue and explained I was meant to stay on but then had an exam scheduled.
Things I learned: women couldn't vote until 1971. The Swiss constitution is essentially a copy of ours, but the president only is in office for one year and has almost no power. Their Carnival sounds fun- I guess some dude parades in and throws oranges at people. Hilary later described it as "a drunken debauchery fest with ridiculous costumes. Not pretty like Venice... more like Halloween on crack."
After the tour, we ate. It was really delicious, and Caitlin and Hilary were stellar and let me order the last plate of this yummy pork and potatoes meal. I <3 them.
Then we went and found the Sleeping Lion (a memorial to the military, I think). It was very pretty, and we went up a side path and found an inscription in French on the side of a cliff. While we were translating it, a guy came up with a giant mask, and we all started talking, asking about the scaffolding by the Lion (I guess some people thought that it would be fun to throw paintballs at it). Then Haider kept asking him questions, and Hilary found out he plays trombone in a (not very good) band, and told him she plays the trumpet. When the guy went to go through this door, Haider asked if he was Batman. So the guy invited us in to this secret World War II bunker that his band practices in, and showed us some costumes from previous Carnivals. It was badass.
After he threw us out of the bunker (we really, really weren't supposed to be in there), we went into a church for a few minutes. Then we found a shop that we had vouchers to get free chocolate from (yuuum, I bought two candy bars and am still working on one of them). We backtracked our tour route a bit to go to this Crepe place for Crepes and hot chocolate. Swiss hot cocoa is, unsurprisingly, amazing.
We traipsed over to the Jesuit's home, which is now the Foreign Offices, and went up a few flights of stairs (no one stopped us or greeted us or anything, it was totally open) and checked out this snazzy series of paintings called 'Dance of Death' from like the 16 or 1700's. I know, I'm good at these specifics.
After that, we went to the train station so my friends could see me off. The train ride was pretty gorgeous- it was sunset, and we wound through the mountains a bit.
Tuesday, 17 February
So it took three trains to get to Luzern- Venice to Milan, Milan to somewhere in Switzerland, then a quick train to Luzern. It was snowing at the last station and on the last train, and Haider couldn't get over the snow. He kept asking me if it was surreal or what, so I just smiled so as not to rain on his parade that really, I'm kind of used to snow.
From Milan to Switzerland, we all got a bit stir-crazy. Haider, Kev and Hilary were all listening to the same song and dancing, and Caitlin ended up getting caged in by suitcases, and I really did NOT want to study. There's a lovely series of photos featuring varying stages of maths hair, and Caitlin in a cage. (When Vanessa moved a water bottle that was 'barricading' her in: "Give me my cage back, bitch!")
We also had an interesting moment upon arrival, trying to buy bus tickets from the machine, when we'd all just got 100's out. Then there was a miscount with the tickets, so I got to sprint back (since I had the least luggage) and buy another one and sprint back to the bus before it left. We also got very vague directions to our hostel- 'Go down the hill, up the hill then down, if you hit the lake you've gone too far.' We ended up running into two girls on their way back to the hostel who walked us the rest of the way there, which was good, because it was dark, cold, and wet snow.
Also, the machine at the hostel ate my internet money. Not cool.
Wednesday, 18 February
Vanessa and I got up early, and she went to the train station with me so I could put my stuff in a locker and figure out what time I needed to catch a train and how to get to Bastel's airport once I got off said train.
We met up with everyone else (and Kevin's friend Katie, who met up with us at the hostel) in the train station, where a walking tour left a bit before ten. It was very, very cold. My toes were not happy with me, even with a double layer of socks. Apparently, they thought I should've tripled up.
We saw most of the big stuff in Luzern on the tour, including a Jesuit Church, Chapel Bridge, and the medieval village. Kev pointed out that it got to be a bit like the National Gallery by the end- a lot of the same stuff over again, and our guide felt like discussing all of it in detail even though we were all obviously quite happy with the sparknotes. She kept asking me about saints's names and whatnot when she found out I go to a Jesuit university. I suppose since Jesuits are outlawed in Switzerland, she didn't understand that a Jesuit education =/> full theological knowledge. Haider was also a bit confused about Jesuits, he thought there were just a few of them and asked where they went after they got kicked out of Switzerland, not realizing that they could've easily dispersed to almost anywhere. The woman also made me a bit upset when she told me I was silly for leaving before their Carnival started the next morning, and not going skiing, but Hilary came to the rescue and explained I was meant to stay on but then had an exam scheduled.
Things I learned: women couldn't vote until 1971. The Swiss constitution is essentially a copy of ours, but the president only is in office for one year and has almost no power. Their Carnival sounds fun- I guess some dude parades in and throws oranges at people. Hilary later described it as "a drunken debauchery fest with ridiculous costumes. Not pretty like Venice... more like Halloween on crack."
After the tour, we ate. It was really delicious, and Caitlin and Hilary were stellar and let me order the last plate of this yummy pork and potatoes meal. I <3 them.
Then we went and found the Sleeping Lion (a memorial to the military, I think). It was very pretty, and we went up a side path and found an inscription in French on the side of a cliff. While we were translating it, a guy came up with a giant mask, and we all started talking, asking about the scaffolding by the Lion (I guess some people thought that it would be fun to throw paintballs at it). Then Haider kept asking him questions, and Hilary found out he plays trombone in a (not very good) band, and told him she plays the trumpet. When the guy went to go through this door, Haider asked if he was Batman. So the guy invited us in to this secret World War II bunker that his band practices in, and showed us some costumes from previous Carnivals. It was badass.
After he threw us out of the bunker (we really, really weren't supposed to be in there), we went into a church for a few minutes. Then we found a shop that we had vouchers to get free chocolate from (yuuum, I bought two candy bars and am still working on one of them). We backtracked our tour route a bit to go to this Crepe place for Crepes and hot chocolate. Swiss hot cocoa is, unsurprisingly, amazing.
We traipsed over to the Jesuit's home, which is now the Foreign Offices, and went up a few flights of stairs (no one stopped us or greeted us or anything, it was totally open) and checked out this snazzy series of paintings called 'Dance of Death' from like the 16 or 1700's. I know, I'm good at these specifics.
After that, we went to the train station so my friends could see me off. The train ride was pretty gorgeous- it was sunset, and we wound through the mountains a bit.
It's SO complicated with Dell Techsup Port again.
Posted on Feb. 20th, 2009 at 09:59 pm
Today was mostly a day of computer issues. I got up early to go to PC World to see if they could back up my data, decided that £100 wasn't worth it, so I went to Computing Services in what I knew would be a fruitless attempt (it was, they had no idea what I wanted them to do. Seriously, I should work on this campus's computing services, I know more about computers than they do).
I decided to go take a nap for a little while since I was really tired, and couldn't go grocery shopping in case Dell called and said they were coming with my parts.
My health check was fine- they did some things and she gave me my prescriptions without me even asking for it, which was awesome, so I went to the pharmacy and got those filled.
Since Dell still hadn't called back, I called to see if they were coming with my stuff any time soon, and the guy finally showed up at 5:30 (so much for "between 10 and 5"). Mois didn't bring the motherboard, just the memory, and promised it would work, so put that in and left. I can sometimes turn my computer on again, but it's still very broken, and I tried to call him to get him to come back with the stupid motherboard, but he didn't answer his phone, and of course he left at like 6:01 so there was no one back in the office to get a hold of him and make him bring it to me. Dad made some calls, though, so Dell is going to send me a new laptop, since this is the third set of memory I've had to get, and the second time they would need to replace the motherboard, and I can't even count the number of times it's been reformatted/had the operating system installed. So that's good, but I'm stuck doing stuff in the library until then.
Some good things have come out of my time in the library, though. I was unproductive today, but I finished one of my papers last night. Also, I've had some fun conversations. This kid Afi started talking to me because of my ringtone for texts (Village People's "Sex Over the Phone"). He made me play it for his friends, and then I talked to two of them about accents (they apparently think mine is pretty cool), business schools in the States (Afi wants to go to Wharton or whatever is in Penn), and differences between weather and universities. It was pretty fun.
I really just want to curl up in bed and watch a movie, though; my friends are all still in Switzerland, so I've been kinda bored and lonely the last two days as it is, with my computer drama thrown in.
Today was mostly a day of computer issues. I got up early to go to PC World to see if they could back up my data, decided that £100 wasn't worth it, so I went to Computing Services in what I knew would be a fruitless attempt (it was, they had no idea what I wanted them to do. Seriously, I should work on this campus's computing services, I know more about computers than they do).
I decided to go take a nap for a little while since I was really tired, and couldn't go grocery shopping in case Dell called and said they were coming with my parts.
My health check was fine- they did some things and she gave me my prescriptions without me even asking for it, which was awesome, so I went to the pharmacy and got those filled.
Since Dell still hadn't called back, I called to see if they were coming with my stuff any time soon, and the guy finally showed up at 5:30 (so much for "between 10 and 5"). Mois didn't bring the motherboard, just the memory, and promised it would work, so put that in and left. I can sometimes turn my computer on again, but it's still very broken, and I tried to call him to get him to come back with the stupid motherboard, but he didn't answer his phone, and of course he left at like 6:01 so there was no one back in the office to get a hold of him and make him bring it to me. Dad made some calls, though, so Dell is going to send me a new laptop, since this is the third set of memory I've had to get, and the second time they would need to replace the motherboard, and I can't even count the number of times it's been reformatted/had the operating system installed. So that's good, but I'm stuck doing stuff in the library until then.
Some good things have come out of my time in the library, though. I was unproductive today, but I finished one of my papers last night. Also, I've had some fun conversations. This kid Afi started talking to me because of my ringtone for texts (Village People's "Sex Over the Phone"). He made me play it for his friends, and then I talked to two of them about accents (they apparently think mine is pretty cool), business schools in the States (Afi wants to go to Wharton or whatever is in Penn), and differences between weather and universities. It was pretty fun.
I really just want to curl up in bed and watch a movie, though; my friends are all still in Switzerland, so I've been kinda bored and lonely the last two days as it is, with my computer drama thrown in.
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