Quel est ton problème?: juin 2005

Long day! Tired! When it's "hot" here, meaning that it gets above 80, everyone seems to want to move a bit slower and take longer to do things. Even though I'm from Tucson, hot feels different here because most places aren't air conditioned as they are in the Southwest. So it's not as much moving from air conditioned-place to air conditioned-place as it is finding a place that's air conditioned at all. Today wasn't horrible, but I had to be outside a lot, so it felt a bit ucky.

Emily and I made a huge library run today. I call it trying to return the library to the library (as opposed to its temporary home in my apartment. You may remember the huge stacks of books that lived here for quite some time. These stacks are now greatly diminished, and there's lots more space under my tables and chairs. So all of you who were waiting for my French Renaissance texts (in Middle French!) to be returned, this is your lucky day! They're all yours! We also went to Dairy Queen and talked about Lyon. This made the heat feel better. Is that grammar all screwed up?

Two of my former students, who were in my class every term I taught except for one, had me over for dinner tonight. I didn't think I would have as much fun as I did. Unexpected fun is the best! And I didn't have to cook for the first time in a million bazillion years (approximate figure). It was also nice to walk home at 9:30 in the evening and have it not be totally dark. Don't worry mom, I took well-lit streets!

I'm listening to "Taking off for France" by Sarah Cracknell (off of the Kelly's Locker EP- I played it non-stop sophomore year of college and still love it), and it reminds me that I'm leaving in less than two months. I just emailed the travel agent to check on my tickets, and if all's well with that, then I leave on August 15th from Phoenix. This means that I also have about 2.5 weeks left here, which is another scary thing. Anyone want to buy my furniture? No, seriously. I don't want to move the furniture back and forth, it'll be easier to just move my things (clothes, shoes, books, shoes, kitchen stuff, clothes, shoes), so I need to sell it. Bah! Work! This could be more difficult than I anticipated.

The apartment I'm probably moving into in Lyon doesn't have an oven. But people apparently buy toaster-oven type things and use those. So I could bake small things. Hmmm. It's in a great location, the owners are nice, it has a terrasse, and I really want to live there. Marc! Should I take it?

Mike and I have decided that the iTunes "shuffle" is definitely not random. Mine favors ABBA, Belle and Sebastian, and the 6ths. Oh, and Mike left me with some cds to copy while he was here, and now those have also become the darlings of iTunes- the Chemical Brothers singles collection, and Pretty in Black by the Raveonettes. I get an odd mix. Right now it's playing "The Book of Love" by the Magnetic Fields (69 Love Songs, disc 1). It reminds me of how I wanted to talk about Stephin Merritt as a modern-day troubadour on my exams. But I didn't think anyone would understand the reference except for me. Still trying to locate a copy of "One April Day" from the Pieces of April soundtrack to avoid having to buy the whole cd, most of which I already own on other discs. Now I'm listening to "Ma ville est le plus beau parc" by Tryo. I think I'm going to skip to the next song. (Beach Boys, "Wouldn't it be Nice" to "Jakarta" by Future Bible Heroes to "Everything is Everything" by Phoenix to "Elevator Song" by Dubstar to "Cartoon" by Future Bible Heroes to "Caring is Creepy" by the Shins to "Only in Dreams" by Weezer to "Fiction" by Belle and Sebastian, where I stopped).

Aaaah! Weather bug is beeping! Oh, it'll be hot again tomorrow. Fun. Ok, I'm going to bed.

My toenails are bright pink, as per Emily's advice, and I ate too many Jujyfruits, clearly not following her advice there. Also, I uploaded pictures from the Seattle trip (see below) and think I have mastered adding pictures directly through Blogger, a new feature I just discovered.

Anyway, it's good to be back in Eugene, sort of. I have lots of things to accomplish here before I leave, but two big ones were finished today- namely plane ticket and apartment (!) in Lyon. More to follow when those are "officially" nailed down, but really? They're pretty for sure, yo. This is going to make my life a lot easier. The wonderful Emily also showed me some of her pictures from her year there (in the job I'll be taking) and helped me write an email to the owners of the place I'll probably be renting to ask more specific questions (and mom? I forgot to ask about the water pressure- sorry!) Then we went to Target and I knocked everything off the shelves. No, wait, I didn't. But once Eliana and I went and tested out the pool noodles' hitting potential for Les Guignols. True story, there. What?

Everyone, time to vote. As you may know, I can bake pretty well. As you also may know, I don't really do much for the 4th of July. (actually, this may be a lie- as I'm thinking about the past few 4ths, I've done something basically every year. So why did I say that?) This year Jen and I are having a barbeque. Meaning that her boyfriend has to grill, because we don't know how, and that I'll be making a lot of the other food (designated cook! designated cook!), including dessert! Yum! So, should I try to master an American-as-apple-pie before then (from the girl who has never made a pie) or should I go for the tried and true, red white and blue cupcakes (meaning cupcakes that have berries and frosting representing the aforementioned colors)? Honestly, the 4th is mostly an excuse to party for me, but I love dessert? Opinions?

Don't worry- mix cds coming! Gina has not forgotten! Just been delayed by a trip north. Love you, muah!

When fountains get sick...

Dad, probably telling me that the shoes I wanted weren't the best choice. Or posing for the camera. You know, either or

My coffee had cardamom in it, something that you'll all be able to appreciate when smell-o-vision is invented. Hey, at least I've learned that pictures don't have sounds (name when I had that problem for extra points)

Dad's green tea looks like the Blob-that-ate-Manhattan!

Advice from a street sign...

Space ship! Space Needle!

Cruise ship going to Alaska, without me. Why?

Gina wanders into a science fiction movie? Gina is abducted by aliens? Gina has a wierd dream? NOOOOO- Gina goes to the Seattle Public Library and visits the "meeting" floor. We left quickly.

Around the world in more than 10 newspapers

My new friend.

A leaf fell on my latte! Or a talented barista worked in my cafe!

With this sign, I knew that the coffee would be plentiful in Seattle. And it was!

All these flowers for me? Awww, you shouldn't have? Oh wait, you didn't.

Obligatory "I Went to Seattle" picture. But I did go to Seattle. And I went to Pike's Place Market about 8 times.

Dinner! Just kidding. Wait, did I eat crab?

Seattle, morning one. Croissant et pain au chocolat at Le Panier, near Pike's Place.

Gina proven wrong, Space Needle proven to exist...

As is proven by the following photo, my hypothesis that the Space Needle was nothing more than a sham has turned out to be, well, slightly incorrect. Totally incorrect? To back this up with much more substansial evidence than last time, I provide the following photo. Note both the Space Needle and me and my Dad and the proximity between the two groups (both are clearly identified in the picture). What's next, aliens don't exist and the X-Files was made up?

?

Space Needle... a sham?

Live from Seattle, it's me, your very favorite Gina Louise. You thought you were rid of me, now didn't you? Ha- I win!

I thought I'd take this time to answer a few questions that people (or myself) have had about Seattle. Because, well, after 24 hours in this city, yes, I am an expert.

Is the city really full of coffee shops?
Don't be silly! Of course it is. No really, it is. You can't walk a block without hitting at least one place to get your caffeine fix, and they come in all varieties. French, Italian, Internet, Cafe-cum-Gallery, Walk-up, Walk-in, Organic, Local, Chain, Multi-national conglomerate, you know, anything. As for those multi-nationals, yes Starbucks is everywhere. I have seen the original (down by Pike's Place Market), and probably 10-12 more. It's insane. The ratio of cafes to people here must be something like 5000000 to 1. Or you know, something close to that.

Do they really throw fish at the market?
Yes, and they chase people with huge eels too. This is not a lie. Would I lie to you, mes amis?

Is it always raining?
No. It's sunny and beautiful right now. Maybe Oregon could borrow some of this weather.

So, what have you really done?
I walked around a lot? I've also been to Pike's Place 3 times in 24 hours. That's impressive. Dad and I have been exploring, then he ditched me, saying something about a "conference" and "sessions." Hmmm. Sounds fishy. I bet he made those "conference" programs and brochures lying around the hotel room too. So I, well, shopped (but didn't buy anything except tea and lip balm!) and walked around some more. Oh, and we went to the library.

The library? Why did you go to the library?
Because it's new and shiny and pretty. And the escalators and elavators are neon yellow. It's an incredible modern and fresh library, and great to just walk around. There's also an entire floor that's dark red, and sort of creepy.

Does this "Space Needle" thing really exist?
No. I've become convinced that the entire Space Needle thing is a hoax, just like the moon landing. It's supposed to be huge, which means I should be able to see it easily. Can I? No. No clouds and still no Space Needle. Dad swears he's seen it, but he also believes in Bigfoot and aliens, so you can't really tell. I know it was in Frasier and everything, but it was probably computer-generated. Come to think of it, it was only in the credits and never actually shown. See- sham!

I've taken lots of pictures, but until I get my own computer hooked up, you'll all just have to wait with baited breath. Ooh look, a ferry!

Seattle, here I come!

As you may or may not know, tomorrow morning (at 5:45 am- thanks Amtrak!) I'm taking off for Seattle! My dad has to go to a conference (this is the west-coast ADFL conference, it was because of the east coast version that he missed my graduation), and he invited me to come along for the trip. So good-bye Eugene, hello Seattle for about 5 days. I've never been before, and this is really the last chance I have before I leave Eugene. Plus, I'm going to take the train instead of flying. It's a lot cheaper, and this train, which I took to Portland in October, is actually quite nice. And? I AM SO EXCITED!

I'm going to try and blog from up north (if there are that many coffee shops in Seattle, some of them must have WiFi, right?), but if that doesn't happen you'll at least all get to see some lovely pictures when I get back. April, Em, and E (and anyone else who wants to do the exchange), I'll be sending your cds after I get back. If anyone wants a postcard, email before tonight or give me a call.

That's all for now, everyone. Think happy thoughts of me, drinking a latte and hyped up on caffeine, exploring the Pacific Northwest!

Deep thoughts with a side of popcorn

After that picture-fest, we're now back to our regularly scheduled programming, meaning- MOI, meaning- you have to listen to MOI talk. So there.

Do you want to hear something funny? The first time that it really hit me that I was going to France was when I was watching the Alias season finale with the lovely Emily. There was a huge cliffhanger and I got very upset that I would have to wait all the way until next season to find out what happened. It took about 30 seconds beyond that for me to realize- NOOOOOOO- I won't be here next season, and I think France is behind a season or so in Alias. This may seem really ridiculous, but I just thought it was funny that my realisation process was so deeply tied in with Alias. See? I am a spy! Wait, no I'm not. None of you heard or read that. Really.

Tonight I made real popcorn again, but this time with olive oil and pecorino cheese. Mes amis, it was really good. You should all eat popcorn like this, all the time. At least three times a day, four days a week. Because, well, I said so? Oh no wait, because it's good. There. Also this week I helped Jen cook birthday dinner for her boyfriend (why? because it was a family recipe, and because Jen's my friend and friends do random stuff like that for other friends) and then was sad when I remembered that I wasn't eating it. (note to Dad, who doesn't read this- thanks for the recipe!) I also had a great "awww cooking!" moment when Jen asked me to copy a recipe and I got to say, for the first time "well, it's sorta just in my head, but I'll write it out." Eat that, people!

I want to talk for a bit about being lonely. Not to be sappy, but because it's something I've been thinking about and talking about a lot lately. I have lovely friends who I wouldn't trade for all the nachos in the world, but I do still live by myself and am perpetually single (I know, I know, hard to believe- with this razor-sharp wit and stunning personality?). No matter how much time I spend with other people, I end up coming home to an empty house. This can be the greatest feeling in the world and there are times when it's all I want. No one can tell me to change the music, to stop grinding coffee beans so early in the morning, to stop taking such long showers, or to stop watching Pieces of April already. I've also learned to do everything I need to do around the place by myself, which is good. But quite often (more so lately) it just feels hard. I know that millions of other people feel this way and that no one can deny that being lonely isn't just a small thing. But in a world where so many of us do get lonely, how can lonliness be so ignored? When we go to the movies and watch someone on-screen who is alone and lonely and sad, we can bet that by the end of the movie said person will have magically "cured" their problem, probably by the timely appearance of a significant other. Why does no one end up alone in these things? There are people out there who are alone, and who aren't so fond of being constantly reminded of that fact. In a Eugene where I'm down to zero single girlfriends, I go out and am usually the only one going back to be by myself, watch tv, and am hit by commercials where the marketing ploy for a razor is "now you don't have to steal your boyfriend's!" I don't care about that, I have no boyfriend from which to steal- tell ME why I should buy your stupid razor. I think this is less about me being lonely and more about the fact that there are so many people out there who are alone, either for long periods of time or short, but who society trys to sell products to by reminding us how happy it will make our boyfriends or girlfriends or children. I don't deny that I'm bitter with my situation- but I'm also bitter with being shoved into a corner by societal expectations. I'm really that piece that doesn't fit. (ooh, except for Apple marketing- I think I fit in wonderfully with their ideas- come on people, my iPod is PINK). So boohoo, that was overly sad, let's move on, shall we?

Last night, after almost 2 years in this apartment, I realised that I could watch movies in bed by simply watching them on my laptop, which would have to travel the grand distance of 5 feet to accomodate this situation. Way to go Gina. I celebrated by watching Pieces of April (I know, I know, but with the commentary, and honestly? Only the second time since I purchased by own copy- and before that I hadn't seen it since January) aaaaand promptly falling asleep. Twice. I tell you, mes amis, they gave me a MA (sort of), but sometimes my lack of intellectual ability dazzles me.

Anyone out there want to do a mix cd exchange? Maybe a cd of songs that represent who you are, right now? The root of this is extremely selfish- I want pieces of all of you to take with me to Lyon. So friends? Family? People I don't know? Bueller? Bueller?

Ok, I think I'm going to attempt this movie-in-bed concept again. Wish me luck!