July 1st.
I was standing in the Warsaw airport at 6am having gone to bed only two hours earlier. I felt sick from getting food poisoned in Ukraine and everything felt very surreal. Rafael, and Prudence watched quietly, Monika gave me an eiffel tower keychain from her recent trip to Paris, Nella smiled and joked in the discrete way that she does, Britt stood anxiously beside me, and my host mom Danka held an American flag. I was feeling nauseous from the food poisoning, but also the added nerves of leaving the country. Daniela smiled at me warmly and lead me to the bathroom where I threw up. As we walked back to the small crowd, she rubbed my back and mothered me. Minutes passed, Britt and I went through the gate, and a strange calmness came over me as we boarded the plane.
It's been one year since I left Poland and my exchange ended. Today the exchange students after me are coming home. The first time I saw them they were timid but excited to start their own exchange and everything about Poland sounded strange. Then I saw one of them when I visited Warsaw six months ago and she knew better Polish than me.
A year later and I'm sitting on a blue couch with glass sliding doors in front of me watching the Aussie sky turn from day to dusk. I have a beautiful girlfriend, an awesome cat, and I wash dogs for a living. A lot of things can change in a year. A lot of things changed for the year I was in Poland. But right now, things are starting to feel more stable. I have the person I want to spend my life with, we have a place to live, and we're building a savings account. We've got the simple things down; it's just the future that remains unknown. But that's ok.
::
2008 30 June :: 10.03pm
:: Music: Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
:)
I certainly haven't been shopping for any new shoes
-And-
I certainly haven't been spreading myself around
I still only travel by foot and by foot, it's a slow climb,
But I'm good at being uncomfortable, so
I can't stop changing all the time
I notice that my opponent is always on the go
-And-
Won't go slow, so's not to focus, and I notice
He'll hitch a ride with any guide, as long as
They go fast from whence he came
- But he's no good at being uncomfortable, so
He can't stop staying exactly the same
If there was a better way to go then it would find me
I can't help it, the road just rolls out behind me
Be kind to me, or treat me mean
I'll make the most of it, I'm an extraordinary machine
I seem to you to seek a new disaster every day
You deem me due to clean my view and be at peace and lay
I mean to prove I mean to move in my own way, and say,
I've been getting along for long before you came into the play
I am the baby of the family, it happens, so
- Everybody cares and wears the sheeps' clothes
While they chaperone
Curious, you looking down your nose at me, while you appease
- Courteous, to try and help - but let me set your
Mind at ease
-Do I so worry you, you need to hurry to my side?
-It's very kind
But it's to no avail; I don't want the bail
I promise you, everything will be just fine
If there was a better way to go then it would find me
I can't help it, the road just rolls out behind me
Be kind to me, or treat me mean
I'll make the most of it, I'm an extraordinary machine
Katti and Oliver are here all weekend (today is only the beginning) and I am pumped.
It is going to be an awesome weekend.
ALSO! I am getting my haircut on Saturday. ALSO! Nick is getting a facial (AT THE SAME TIME) because I told him how awesome it was and called them and set up an appointment and told him he was going.
ALSO! You all = awesome people and I love you.
Happy (early) birthday to all you birthday peeps this weekend. Holla at me and tell me how awesome your birthday weekend is going.
Up: I got beginning boosts (TWICE) in Mario Kart. And then I never got it again.
Up: Work sped by. And I got thanked for being nice to someone. Which was weird but neat.
Up: Nick let me choose dinner and I ate chicken nuggets from Wendy's. And it was num-num.
Down: Our lease is up at the end of June, not July. That would be this month, not the next month. That would be a week and a half to find a place to live, not a month and half. So. Yes. Needless to say, I am freaking out.
Down: I am PMS-ing like whoa.
Down: My Marian Keyes book took a bad turn. So bad that I shouted at the characters to STOP and DON'T because they are ruining everything. I do not think they are STOPping. I should go check.
Mario Kart
Katti/Oliver bought Mario Kart Wii over the weekend. I are hooked.
I got my first sparks today. Blue and orange. I was proud of myself.
Picky thing one: blue shells show up a lot more than they used to. Maybe it is because I am in first place a lot more often but I never get one to throw at people, I only ever get them thrown at me. Every lap. Picky thing two: I oversteer and then overcorrect and then over the edge of the map I go. Stupid maps without walls. Stupid maps with walls, actually, messing up my sparks. Picky thing three: I am obsessed with those stupid sparks. They distract me from actually racing and I just focus on milking the drift for orange sparks.
For those with the game (Jason/Michelle), how in the world do I do the boost at the start? I have tried the Mario Kart 64 timing at the arm drop and it's not working. That is picky thing four.
I also suck at bikes. I need to practice more, I guess.
I still use Peach. I always have. Baby Peach gets used sometimes to because she is too darn cute.
Anyway, here is our Mario Kart friend code: 3652 1810 6619. This game is way fun, just frustrating. My New Year's resolution of not swearing is always put on hold as DK or stupid Mario go blowing past me.
I love you all.
P.S. Drafting? AWESOME.
P.P.S. Wario's mine level and DK's snowy retrofitted level SUCK. I hate them. I hate them like whoa.
P.P.P.S. We saw The Happening on Friday. I read what it was beforehand and was expecting horrible things. What did I get? A horrid movie. It was bad. And way too over the top. I just kept promising myself that if M. Night showed us one more person killing themselves, I was walking out. I stayed and just kept looking away and covering my ears. It was BAD. The people throwing themselves off of buildings made me think of September 11th and the thunking noise they made as they hit the ground made me want to throw up. The dialog was awful.
P.P.P.P.P.S. Hulk, on the other hand, was awesome. Nick is right, I am a closeted comic book fan. I am excited for Cap'n America's movie.
Just Curious...
Is there anywhere anyone knows of in Cedar w/ free (or not free) wi-fi?
I'm going to be internet-less this summer. But I'm sure I'll survive.
I don't know about you but I never knew
On Nielsen ratings and Nielsen boxes: Read more..
So it's like some crazy exclusive quilt-making club that no one is allowed to see, hear, join or talk about. You only get to see the quilts and wonder why your favorite quilt design got discontinued. Then you can only conclude that they obviously aren't recruiting the right type of quilters. If they were, the Arrested Development quilt would still be available.
I'm settling in. I think I like it here. It sucks because I'm so far away from most of you but I think this is really good for me. I'm moving on. I'm getting past everything thats happened to me. I feel more free.
