Signage

I would always laugh to myself when I would pass this building, because I could imagine the graffitist in question saying "I've always wanted to vandalize a building, and by ass I'll do it!" Then my dreams shattered because I found out the store's name is "Abyss", and happenstance created the crude anagram.


It's not even real graffiti! Look closely! It's a printed sign. Oh, heavens.

Fire!

It's sort of odd that this site is becoming the place where I stash the updates of questionable content

Here's a good time. Tracey's apartment has no heat (not an enviable condition right now) and she and Katy had the inspiration to set a pile of newspaper aflame. On a plate. On a meltable, toxic table. It was like a train wreck, but instead of trying to stop it, I just wanted to make sure I got a good picture. I think the plate is beyond repair. We also made the fortuitous discovery that there are no smoke alarms in the entire building. That's comfortable.

Hee. This had to be on purpose. I chose the lemon sorbet at Aux Deux Fondues on Saturday and this was the plate that I got. I really, really wish that I could have gotten a better picture but the atmosphere was small and cozy so a flash would have seemed very inappropriate. It was delicious. We had the option of a chocolate fondue, but I was already stuffed and it was an extra four euros a person.

Update

I know I haven't posted here in forever, but people keep clamoring for new, exciting photos and I feel obligated to acquiesce. Things are fine here; my dad came in yesterday afternoon and wouldn't you know it, it's been raining practically nonstop. So much for the beach.

My new classes are fine and easy. More than half the class consists of Chinese girls - it's like Matt Stein's wet dream. There are two disagreeable obnoxious girls that I already can't stand. One is from Israel and the other Moldovia. They obviously don't have arms because I haven't seen them raise their hands once, and they make sure that the entire class knows when they don't understand something.

My host family is going on some vacation next week so it'll be party city.

Swimming

Caption this photo:

Say what??? My bathing suit is way too small? Oh, pshaw! You just don't know what's 'in'. And I can tell you fer sure that itty bitty trunks are all the rage in Europe. Yes, even if they don't fit. You're just not chic enough to realize it.




Yeah, so this is floral print bag boy. He's quite the interesting character. The first thing he said when he stepped into the river under the Pont du Gard was 'oooh boy, this water feels delicious!'. Wow. I think that he may be beginning to notice that I take pictures of him all the time, in which case I'd be really embarassed.


France is fun; I really am not going to recap everything from the other blog.

Not Yet

Well, I thought that the previous entry was going to be the last before I left, but that was before the cold medicine wore off at 2:00. So now I'm up again, which is a shame.

Another thing happened at my haircut today. The stylist was asking me what I wanted done, and even after I told her she kept suggesting additional things. She said, "are you sure you don't want bangs?" and I was like "hah! no!" in a much ruder voice than I had intended, right before noticing that she was majorly rocking the bangs look. She looked crestfallen. Maybe that's why she took it out on my hair.

God, my arms and legs have this weird disconnected feeling now. I'm not tired in the slightest, and I'm pseudo-tempted to take some more Benedryl or something, but I think that's a really bad idea. I probably wouldn't wake up.

I am sorry that I didn't get to see Little Miss Sunshine before I left. Damn you, Carmike Cinemas! Why don't you carry good movies?

Oh, and I think I ruined our computer desk. I left the cup of water that I used to take the medicine on it, and it condensed like mad and now there's this huge circular watermark that's conspicuously lighter than the rest of the wood. Yeah, it doesn't look like it's going to go away. (psst: 30 minutes later, it's, um, lightening.)

Travis couldn't believe that I could just stop watching Alias two episodes before the season finale, but I actually think that it's better that way. For one thing, I didn't have time, and the other is that there's always this major suspenseful cliffhanger and while that's not a bad thing, it is kind of irritating when I know that I'm not going to be around to watch season 5.

Last in Mt. Lebanon

Okay, last post from Mt. Lebanon. I took NyQuil about a half hour ago, so I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to stay up. The luggage thing ended up to be a huge problem, causing stress and frantic shoving. It's still a problem, but I'm ignoring it for now. I figure I can worry about it tomorrow. Right now, I'm dazedly moving files from my iTunes to my iPod so that they aren't lost forever. I still need a shower quite badly, and I'm counting on the nice relaxation to get me to sleep because I don't want to be up at 3:00 in the morning panicking. God, I just don't want to forget anything way crucial.

I had to get a haircut today and while sitting in the chair I noticed this guy in the mirror being led to the hairdresser's station and right as the words 'foppish dandy' flew threw my head he looked over and gave me a little head flick, as if to say 'heyyy . . . I totally caught you checking me out' which I so wasn't doing. My poor hair got a beating, too. The stylist was way too harsh on the blowdrying. I could almost feel my hair sizzling.

If you haven't checked it out already, my study abroad blog will probably be updated more.

Loose Ends

Will someone please tell me what happened to the Ben and Jerry's kiosk in the Galleria? I was saving up my 'free small ice cream cone' coupon for a month to use while at home, and as Travis and I were ascending the elevator . . . nothing. It was as if it had never existed. So now I have a superfluous coupon which I gave to Travis and no ice cream. Bummer.

Am I still finding random, important things to pack? Uh-huh. Latest one - an entire bag full of shampoo and the like. Also, the big headphones I love as well as some embroidery.

I know this is like, the oldest thing ever, but I am completely enamored with the Snakes on a Plane song by Cobra Starship. I honestly had not heard it until I saw the movie on Thursday, and now it's like my personal theme song.

I went to the knockoff Dollar Tree in Caste Village today to pick up various items and I found the neatest little wallets that had skulls and crossbones on the front. I was sorely tempted to buy out every color, but resigned myself to the basic white-on-black. I picked up this prehistoric-looking bone and some catnip toys for my host family's pets. They better appreciate them. They seriously have the best present ever. So far, their gift includes:

Aforementioned pet toys
Calendar of different American monuments
Postcards of Pennsylvanian scenery
Brochures of Pennsylvanian entertainment
Long-sleeved Penn State shirt
Short-sleeved Penn State shirt
Short-sleeved Steeler shirt
Nittany Lions paw magnets
Jelly Belly 40-bean variety box

Now, wouldn't anyone just love that?

Awesome Combo

Wow. I don't even know how this could get any better.

P.S. Another one!

P.P.S. Somebody has a real Killers/Harry Potter fixation. And again!

Lordy. There's more, but I'm done linking to all of them. Sheesh!