Dear Simone–
OH MY GOD. It's Thursday. For the next 54 minutes. WHERE HAS THIS WEEK GONE? I apologize for the delay in writing, babe. This week has been study-study-study. Next week's promise: midterm-midterm-midterm. WOO! Get EXCITED. (No.) ]: P
Whatever. Things have been good, and that's the point. I went home this past weekend and had some good times there. My parents made me delicious food (because they are both brilliant cooks) and, aside from going for a ridiculously late-night walk with me on Friday before watching some dance films, they also put up with me almost all day on Saturday while we hiked at Reedy Creek, trekked through IKEA, got ice cream, and ran through Trader Joe's. They finally gave me the boot for a while when, arriving chez nous, my parents realized that my friends from high school (several of whom are still VERY close to my heart) were playing ultimate frisbee out on the field across from the entrance to our street (I can see it from my bedroom window). My arrival actually ended the game because people decided to come sit and talk instead of continuing play (and I had been SO ready to go). Duncan needed a lift home, so I got to see his family (love his mom especially–she hugs me hello) and I got to visit the greenway that I refer to as the Greenway, a place that Duncan and I love for many individual and a few shared reasons. I took a meandering route home–I love driving. Then my parents and I went and saw a movie. It was So. Sad. But so beautifully animated. Some of my absolute best friends and I went late-night rambling upon my return chez moi: Duncan, Lauren, and Jack. Jack drove. After a Cookout stop, we took the back roads up to old Kannapolis. I have driven my friends out there on a few of our driving excursions in the past, and they have developed a fascination with the little downtown that surrounds our old studio. Jack calls it "Zombie Town," and we always joke that the horde of zombies is just waiting to burst from the shop windows. We went to the outdoor theater (where we did La Bayadere so long ago) and danced/ran/spun around on the stage before we discovered the best playground ever at the nearby YMCA branch. Having climbed there for a while, we went to look at Dale Earnhardt and at the old studio and while there we had some adventures that you might appreciate. Over the phone or face-to-face sometime, and that's a promise. :) We drove home, went back out for a few more loops of driving nowhere, and then we all actually went to bed. My dad made waffles for all of us the next morning. My dad makes the BEST waffles. No question. At noon, Duncan and I offski-ed for Chapel Thrill once more, and I cannot really depict the craziness that is our car rides, except that I think I laugh more and harder during those short spaces of time than I do in all the surrounding months, not even kidding. That was the basic outline of my weekend.
Monday: felt like two days due to a shower at noon. The post-shower part of the day was significantly better than the pre-shower part. Showers are almost like sleeping in that you emerge into a sort of newness. I feel like I can do more when I feel fresh like that.
Tuesday: was mostly spent studying in the Union. Yeah, I know, surprising right? I do actually study you know. Just usually not in such high concentration that it leaves me with so few other adventures to relate. Tuesday's highlight: Kate came over at 3:15 in what might become a Spring 2011 tradition. We walked and talked about memory palaces, the ridiculousness of bras and how impractical they can be for women, and access to compost heaps for local aspiring gardeners. Then we watched this episode of Doctor Who, one of the best I've ever seen (even on second watch).
Wednesday: involved lots of walking just for the joy of it. I love walking. French midterm = pas de problem. More walking. Study times. Also I went to South Campus at one in the morning and ate some fresh-baked banana bread while pretending to watch Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain but actually having a deep conversation. Small loss in a way, since Amélie is a movie that I can almost recite entirely, and almost (even) in the original language–I love it unspeakably well and it has had a truly massive influence on making me who I am today. If you haven't watched it before, do, I implore you.
Today: a last minute lunch cancellation by a friend left me to further studying. Bored of books after a few hours of quiet, I returned to my room and completely reorganized it, the satisfying and methodical work of a few hours. Organizing is something that I approach with hesitation and reluctance, but once I start doing it, I remember that I LOVE organizing things. Then I went to do my job-that-I-love (Zumba–good class tonight). I wandered campus alone for a few hours before returning to the dorm to–three guesses to what–study. And write this blog post.
Tomorrow is going to be awesome. But in the meantime. Let me give you something that is not a list of things that I did recently.
Books That I Want To (Hope To) Read This Summer:
Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder (PRIORITY–FINISH)
1984 by George Orwell
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan
Naked by David Sedaris
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert M. Pirsig
Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu
The Qu'ran by Muhammad (and maybe some hadiths if I can find any good translations thereof)
The Odyssey by Homer (FINISH)
Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope by Shirin Ebadi (FINISH)
And a Time to Die: How American Hospitals Shape the End of Life by Sharon R. Kaufman (FINISH)
Narcissus and Goldmund by Herman Hesse (FINISH)
Vingt Ans Après by Alexandre Dumas (FINISH)
Les Malheurs de Sophie by Sophie Ségur (FINISH)
The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating by Alisha Smith and J.B. MacKinnon (FINISH)
That's about as ambitious as I'm willing to be, since I actually do hope to get through this entire list this summer. And possible save time for a little more. I haven't gotten to read for pleasure since semester uno here at UNC, and I feel starved for books of my own choosing. A lot of these books are ones that I've been drooling over for months now. You can probably tell a lot about me from the smattering of books that I've put here on my "Definitely Read" list. There are still many others that I would *like* to read, but that I can also live without reading (for now). Suggestions for additions are welcome. No subject is inherently too boring either.
An adventure just called me (literally, on my cell phone). I will make a post that is exclusively links to make up for the lack of such a section in this post. I hope you're well babe. I WILL post tomorrow (will, will, will). It's been Friday for thirty-nine minutes now. :)
Flighty but yours (and oh-so-intellectually so),
moi
I love living vicariously through you. It is very satisfying, and you do it so well.
ReplyDeleteHey, I made French onion soup tonight. Yummylicious. And I even had the bread on top that had been broiled and then soaked in the soup (and gruyere cheese).
I think I have seen the piece “Falling Angels” live. Is it possible that we saw that one year while performing at the NC Dance festival?
Haha. How many times has a sword actually been used on stage? I wonder if anyone has ever actually been murdered during a performance on stage. Hmm. I just looked it up online. The first one I say was Dimebag Darrell. But he was shot, and it wasn’t by someone on stage with him. Well I just found a story about some ballerinas that stabbed someone off stage. Not finding anything.
Ikea is addicting. And I’m not sure why. I think they vaporize illicit drugs throughout the store to make all the nifty little cabinets and chairs more interesting.
How creative of you Hanna….to call the Greenway a greenway. Lol. Some things just don’t need two names. It is like prescription drugs that have 10 different names. And then once doctors find out that it causes irregular heartbeats, cancer, rare nervous system diseases resulting in paralysis, and death they try to take it off the market, but no one realizes the drug has 10 different names. Okay sorry. Of topic.
Ben &Jerry’s and Maggie Moo’s are the best ice cream shops around. More fat=more yummylicious.
Zombietown seems to be an accurate description from an outsider. It is sweet and charming. And for you and—nostalgic.
Adventures that I might appreciate. Please tell me someone did something hilarious to Dale.
Showers are nothing like baths. I swear that Baths give me as much pleasure as food, drugs, sex, or rock and roll could offer. Seriously. I truly believe that baths trigger the dopamine reward system in my brain.
Bras piss me off. They are perhaps some of the most uncomfortable contraptions ever invented….even the ones that aren’t 5 dollars at Walmart. I remember when I was younger, I was super excited about my first bra. And then after a week of wearing one I decided to wait a while before I subjected myself to that.
So I have been watching Gilmore Girls with French subtitles. It makes me feel better about myself after episode 4 of the day rolls around. I discovered that “truc” is often used in place of “chose”, but I am sure you already know that. Some teacher somewhere should have mentioned that. Public schooling will do that.
I have seen Amélie once; however, I was multitasking with I don’t remember what (and I still thoroughly enjoyed it). I will admit that I need to see it again before trying to have a conversation about it though.
1984 is an absolutely wonderful book. I have the habit to read books halfway through and then say “this garbage isn’t worth my time” or “you know, I just am not enjoying this like I should be”. And I am starting to embrace the half reading of books. 1984 was not a half read for me. So great. I have heard that The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo was addicting too…but I don’t personally know that.
If no subject is inherently too boring, I strongly recommend Welcome to Your Brain. It is written to be engaging for people who aren’t necessarily science oriented. It tells you about how your brain shapes your day to day life, and each chapter is a stand-alone read, so you can choose what topics you find interesting. Read at least part of this during your lifetime for me.
Simonie (yes I spelled my name wrong on purpose)