Personal

Today’s Labor Day which means no class! w00t!

Anywayz, I went to see The Wicker Man last night with Michelle and her mom. It sounded like a really good movie and the beginning was actually pretty good. A tad strange, but good. But then.. no no no. *shakes head* It just fell apart. It really did. It was supposed to be a thriller type thing, but everyone in the movie theater was laughing! I swear, someone really screwed up with this movie. It got to be ridiculous. So if you want to have a laugh, go see it. If you want a serious/scary movie, find something else.

On a side, I got up all the way to the M yesterday! o/ Took me awhile, but I did it. ^-^ I’ll probably try it again next weekend. Just to have some sort of exercise during the week.

I’m so tired… They give us loads of work over here. I mean, I’m used to having the amount of lectures/seminars that I have over here, but they just give you so much work to do. And I have a quiz once a week on Shakespeare. >_< Well, the good thing is that I don’t have an exam on Shakespeare, just two essays to write. Fun stuff. And over here they give you the number of pages they expect, not the word count. It’s a bit strange, but I guess I’ll get used to it eventually.

I’ve been pretty lucky with who I got as my roommate. Michelle and I have a similar taste in music, we like doing the same type of things, we don’t annoy each other. I’ve heard some stories about roommates just being awful to each other. We’ve also met this girl Alysha who lives on the same floor as us. She’s really nice. The three of us have started to hang out together practically everyday. We go eat together at least once a day. And like Thursday night we just went out for smoothies and hung out together. Yay, I’ve got friends over here! o/

There’s so much to do around here. Like Tuesday and Wednesday nights there were free performances on the Oval (this huge empty spot in the middle of the campus) of Shakespeare’s plays. Then Thursday night there was a comedian and a movie. Friday they there was the Welcome Feast which meant a free lunch. ^-^

Someone keeps wheeling their bicycle in the hall…

Well, I’m going to try to climb up to the M tomorrow. My second attempt. I don’t think I’ll make it, but I want to see if I can get up higher than last week. I might try to do it again on Monday (seeing as it’s Labor Day which means no classes!) but I might not wake up in time to try it. Plus I’ve got a load of stuff to do.

Ooh, there is one really awesome thing about this building anyway. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it already in a previous post or something, but the laundry facilities are free (plus there’s a huge TV in the lounge)! And so I did some laundry on Thursday and the stuff I got from Target is soooooo nice. It’s vanilla and lavender scented. ^-^ After I’d gotten all of my clothes from the dryer and dumped them onto my bed for sorting, I just lay on top of them for a while. Warm, smelled nice… Bliss. For some reason it just made me really happy. I might be nuts, but I like doing domestic stuff. Cleaning, laundry, cooking.. it makes me happy. And that’s what counts, right? Other stuff makes me happy as well, like knitting and reading and a good cup of hot chocolate or tea, so it’s not just contained to 1950’s housewifery (is that an actual word?).

My question to you all is this: What makes you happy? Is the little things in life, like a cup of tea in the afternoon or the leaves changing color in the autumn, or is it something bigger, like acheiving something huge at work?

I have a theory on why the pressure is set to hard in the showers. Because there are so many girls on the floor that have to share the same four showers, someone must’ve thought: Hmm.. didn’t draw up enough shower space. How do I fix that? ….. Hey! Let’s make it painful for them so they won’t spend ages in the shower. That way lines won’t form! and continued on with the drawing of blueprints.

Well, I’ve managed to register for two classes. Two more have to be overridden on Monday before they show up on my schedule. Registration is such a pain. >_< And why on earth would a Shakespeare class take place in a gym?? I mean, really. A gym??

I’ve been sooooooo busy the past week. First there was the flurry of activity when my sister moved house (just down the road, not far at all but still) while we were still staying at their place. That was on Thursday. Then I flew out here to Montana on Saturday. That was a long day. But I did get to talk to some interesting people while I was waiting in the airport. I’ve actually got a videoclip of this group of Canadian Italians singing while we were waiting for our plane to arrive (it was an hour and a half late). I’ll put it up later when I can actually be bothered to upload pics and stuff. I do have those, I just have to resize and crop quite a few of them. Back to the hectic-ness of my days here in the States. Sunday I spent all day unpacking and trying to get my computer hooked up to the internet. That didn’t happen until yesterday because they were being really slow over at the office that sets up the connections. Monday and Tuesday were all day of Foreign Student Orientation. They gave me a shot! *sniffle* It actually hurt more than when I go donate blood and that’s when they drain me! Hmm…

Anyway. Now I’ve got a bank account open, I’ve been to Target to buy another (thicker) pillow and a mattress pad. For some reason the mattresses over here in Miller Hall ridiculously hard. So after sleeping on a hard mattress for four nights, I decided it was time to get something to soften it up, even if it is just a little bit. I miss my own bed back in Belgium. That mattress is sooooo nice and it’s at the perfect height too. The beds over here are really high up too. I’m not used to it. But it’s still an easy climb into bed, so I should be okay. I just have to remember in the mornings that I’m not as close to the floor as I used to be.

I’ve finished reading Necroscope 2. I would like to start the third one straight away, but the silly thing is, my mom packed the fifth one and left the third and fourth over in Chicago. So I’ll get them at the latest during Thanksgiving. Which means that my choice was between The Last of the Mohicans and Labyrinth. I went eeny-meeny-miney-mo and wound up with Mr. Cooper’s story. So far it’s good.

I’ve met a bunch of people over here. Mostly other international students, but a few Americans too. There are quite a few Japanese and Chinese students here. The two Japanese girls that I can recognize and have talked to for a bit are Emi and Miyuki/Mi-han. She hasn’t quite decided which one she wants us to call her. There’s a German and two English girls in the same building as me. On my floor I’ve met Amanda, Christy (the RA) and Michelle, my roommate. Michelle came to drop off some of her stuff today. She won’t actually move in here properly until Sunday. She seems really nice. Apparently our birthdays are only two days apart. Two Cancers living together. I wonder how moody it’ll get in here…

I’ve signed up for two programs over here. They’re the Missoula International Friendship Program (MIFP) and the Peer Assistant (PA) program. In MIFP, there’s like this “host” family that’ll want to do things with new students to show them what it’s like living in the States and stuff. The PA program is similar with the students being paired up with other UM students. I’ll be fairly busy this year, unlike last year. This way I’ll know which one is a better fit for me next year back at Aber. :)

I just remembered that I have to meet up with my advisor tomorrow, but I won’t meet them until after the departmental meeting. Which means I should go to bed. It’s early in the morning… Oh the joys of being a student. At least I won’t necessarily have classes every day. ^-^

Oh and if someone wants my phone number or address while I’m here, just leave a comment or e-mail me. :)

So I’ve finally bought my ticket to Montana. Leaving Saturday afternoon and I should arrive at 11pm. Which means that I *have* to get all of my bedding sorted before I leave. On the plus side, I’m allowed to take two suitcases with me. So if one of those is reserved for the bedding, the other can be for my clothes and stuff. I’ll still need to have some of my stuff shipped over from Chicago, but not as much as I thought I would. There are still a few things that I want cleared up before I start packing though. Like what do I do about my laptop? I could have it checked, but that’s something I don’t want to do. I feel safer carrying it around with me. I just don’t trust the airline to not lose it. But there’s the increased security measures and they recommend that all the carry-on baggage be put in clear bags. I don’t want to advertise that I’ve got a laptop and a camcorder with me. And, I can’t leave my laptop behind either. Who knows when I’ll be able to get it shipped over. But right now, I’m just glad that I’ve finally got my ticket. Makes me a bit more relieved. :)

ANywayz, the shower is finally free so I’m going. There’s always a line with the seven of us all living in the same house. XD

Well, on a boat actually. The taxi’ll be here in about 20 mins. At least I’ve packed. Unlike someone I know… They’re driving me nuts. >_< My mom was asking about what to put into a suitcase and what stays behind, my dad was trying to talk about ghost writers to me, Inga was trying to talk to my dad, Jade came in asking about ghosts… Urgh. I escaped into the kitchen to eat something before we go. But of course, they all followed me. Fun fun.

Jaz and I washed the car today. It’s actually quite fun. We tried to move it, but for some strange reason we couldn’t release the handbreak. So in the end, we wound up getting our mom to move the car for us, after releasing the handbreak. We wanted to drive! *sniffle*

Er, what else.. what else.. Ah yes, I’ve begun knitting some Manresa legwarmers. About halfway through the first one. Pretty changing pink background with the picture bit done in black. I’ll post pictures once they’re done. ^-^

I should probably go before they start yelling at me for being on the computer when I should be helping them with something. XD

Oh! One more thing. I got a new pretty red phone yesterday. o/

I know it’s been ages since I’ve updated, but I’ve had so much fun working on my family tree. I bought this bit of software while I was in England for £5 and then for my birthday I got another bit of software. I like both, but I think I prefer the one I got as a present.

Anywayz, I’ve heard some really interesting stories from my grandparents about my great-great-aunts and uncles. Like one of my Martta-aunts (there’re two) died of heartache when her lover was ambushed and killed by the Reds during the Civil War. I’ve got it all written down, well, notes mostly, but I still remember the story. Then tonight, my grandma found stuff she had begun writing and she promised to give me all of the books and research that’s she’s done so far.

What I really want are pictures. I’ve been taking pictures of the photos they’ve got up on their walls, but they need to be properly scanned into a computer if they’re to look right. On the bright side, I get to meet my great-aunt Sirkka who has also done a load of research and I get all of that too! o/ Go me for being the only one interested in our family tree from my generation. It’s all mine! ^_^

Went shopping with Tian-le, Jaz and Jaz’s friend Tac. Since it’s sale season, I got three anklets, a hairclip and earrings. And all it cost me was 4,64€. ^-^ Jaz on the other hand.. well, she spent a lot. But that’s who she is. We love shopping, she’s just the one who winds up buying a lot of stuff.

I LOVE being back in Belgium! It’s just all the attention that I get over here. I’m an attention whore. XD Y’see, yesterday when we went to rent movies, we got two cars honking at us (that’s a good thing over here :P) and now on our way back home from the bus stop these two really hot guys honked and whistled and did all sorts of stuff to try and get our attention. I mean like really gorgeous guys, about 24 or so, shaved heads, nice car… *grin* It’s so nice to know that I’m wanted. That sort of stuff makes me feel pretty. And it’s really important to feel pretty, because at least for me, it gives me this little bouncy step and keeps me in a good mood for the rest of the day. Looks aren’t everything, but just the feeling that it gives is so nice. :)

Speaking of gorgeous guys, we watched The Phantom of the Opera last night. The Phantom and Raoul were soooooo swoon-worthy. *drool* It’s been such a long time since some actor has had that effect on me. Just seeing Christine and the Phantom sing that song, their passion.. and then when Christine and Raoul sing about spending their lives together… *happy sigh* I just love the passion they have. Sorta makes me wish that some mysterious guy wanted me the way the Phantom wants Christine. Except none of that killing spree stuff.

Eurostar tix have been bought. Going Thursday morning and coming back Tuesday evening. I get to see my sweetie! :) o/

I’ve got my results. 67.33% for the whole year. Which makes it a solid 2.1. ^_^ My modules were: Study of English: 63 Writer’s Art 1: 68 Basic French: 90 Aspects of Genre: 62 Contemporary Writing: 58 Writer’s Art 2: 63

So all in all, I’m happy. Of course I wish that CW would’ve been just a little bit higher so that everything would be at least a 2.1. And the French did skew my results just a bit. If it isn’t included, then my average is 62.8%. Still a 2.1, so yay. o/

Meeting Tian-Le today. I was actually supposed to see her 15 mins ago, but she overslept and missed her train. So I’ll see her in 45 mins. :) Don’t know what we’ll do today, probably just hang around Brussels for a bit before coming home. And I’m buying my Eurostar tickets. Jaz and I are going to Sheffield for the weekend. :D Oh! And my pictures have been developed! I just have to go pick them up today. ^-^

And since my mom is being annoying about cleaning my room and making sure the living room is perfect, I gotta go. Oh the joys of cleaning & straightening up when others tell you to. I don’t mind doing it when I feel like it, but it’s not fun when someone orders you to clean up. >_<

P.S. I love the treadmill! Such a great feeling after using it for an hour.