I made these madeleines. Aren't I cool? 

Look at how close the In-N-Out Burger was! But did I get to eat there? Noooooo. 

Mom by our hotel room in LA. The interior courtyard looked like Spain (at least to me) and was in complete contrast with the outside appearance of the hotel. 

No Spectators beyond this point! Hear that Mom? Torrey Pines Glider Port, with lots of hang gliders in the background. 

Take-off at Torrey Pines Glider Port. 

Torrey Pines Glider Port 

Gina and Mom do Interstate 5

Well mes amis, here we are back in Tucson again. It's as hot as you would imagine it is, but luckily we all pray to the great air conditioner god here, and he/she makes it as bearable as possible. I've heard that it's incredibly hot in Eugene right now, and things there aren't air conditioned, so I guess I got out just in time. Obviously, Mom and I made it back safely, as did all of my stuff. It was pretty amusing (in a strange way) to have the van stuffed to the brim (literally) with all of my things, minus the boxes of books that we had to send. We drove up to Eugene almost 2 years ago when I initially moved, so this trip was the exact opposite of the first one. Basically, you take Interstate 5 almost the entire way (break off after San Diego). No, really. We took the same highway for days. We had fears that the air conditioner in the van would fink out again, which is no fun when you're driving through the desert (anyone hear those new stories about how so many people died from the heat? yeah, we were driving through there), but we got tres lucky. I'll spare you the boring details of the trip, but there were some really fun moments (best details to follow in a standard-issue photo essay). Night one was Stockton, California where we stayed right by an In n' Out Burger, but got take-out Chinese instead and watched the finale of the very first season of the Amaaaaaaazing Race (I had never seen the first season). The next day we could only go to LA, because Monday morning I had to go to the French Consulate. Our hotel in LA was very near Santa Monica, so we drove down and saw what all the fuss was about. We ate at a great Italian place on Main Street (really!) called La Vecchia Cocina (umm, I think). I wish I had felt better, because I wasn't much up to walking around much. The next day we got my visa (more details about this semi-bizarre experience to follow) and made the very long 2 hour drive to SAN DIEGO. (I hope you've noticed that the only really huge day of driving so far has been day one, which was ove 8 hours) The best part about the San Diego element of the trip was our visit to the Torrey Pines Glider Port, where we not only say trained hang gliders taking off, but regular people doing tandem flights. Two very well-dressed older women both took off while we were there, in their original outfits, looking quite stylish attatched to the other glider. It was great to watch all of the younger, casually dressed people around watch while these two ladies soared through the air. After San Diego it was a straight shot (a six and a half hour straight shot) to Tucson.

Even though it's only been a week, I already miss Eugene. I think it's because it was the first place I ever really called home on my own. The apartment was the first apartment I ever came home to and it only really hits me that I'm not going back when I see all of my things that lived in that apartment scattered around the house here (including, don't worry, the polka-dot chair aka myfavoritethingfromtheapartmentandtheonlyfurnitureididn'tsell). But here I do get to see Sarah almost every day, which is a nice element that was missing from my Eugene life. And the family is here, so I can spend some time with them. But don't worry- I'm keeping busy! Today, besides learning that I could wash various colors of cold-wash together (shuuuuuut up!) I made my first batch of madeleines. Faithful readers of Quel est ton probleme will remember that my brother bought me a madeleine pan a few weeks ago. This afternoon was its maiden voyage, providing dessert for a people-from-Le Buzz (our cafe of choice) potluck I went to with my parents. And oh my, they are pretty! How Proustian of me. What? You don't get that reference? Why haven't you read Proust? Really, why? Go, now! Yes, now. I mean it. How do you expect to talk to me after admitting that? For those of you who understand, let's continue. Madeleines=good, Gina=popular at potluck.

So, after spending a loooong time with my mom (and I'm not at all tired of her, which is a nice feeling), I would like to share with you some of her wisdom.
"Before I left for Eugene I found a baby scorpion in the house. But I won't tell you where." (thanks Mom!)
"I made a cake. It's in the garage." (classic. The cake was really in the garage, too)
I love my mom. She's so smart. Really, she is very smart. But do you see where I get the kookiness? Now, you should meet my dad!

Le nouveau blog should be up and running within a week-ish. Until then, you may see some posts eventually destined for that blog here so that I can get them written up (ie "how to get a Visa with Gina") But fear not- Quel est ton probleme is very excited about the arrival of its baby sister, but the older sibling will never be ignored! This will remain the personal outlet with the other being school-sanctioned. Whoopie. Until the debut of that gem, I give you "Gina and Mom do Interstate 5," a photo-essay a la Gina (which will probably publish itself on top of this entry). Are you tired of these yet? And oh yes, I leave two weeks from Monday.

1-year anniversary!

Celebrating one year of none of you really ever knowing what's going on!

Mom's here and we're finishing packing and cleaning the apartment. It is still hot in Eugene, which makes this whole process just so much more fun. But we did just have a great dinner at the Red Agave and ran into Jeff, my favorite-ist bartender ever, who I haven't seen in ages. I'm actually surprised that he even remembers me. But we had the best.dinner.ever. Really. I've eaten a lot of good things, and the Red Agave is right up there with the best things I've eaten. Plus, instead of a normal dessert, we had a cheese plate with cheeses from Spain and almonds and orange marmalade. Trust me, it's good. We're leaving Eugene on Saturday to drive back to Tucson, which means that I'll probably be scarce for a while (unless I find massive amounts of free wi-fi). Instead of writing more boring things, I'll leave you with pictures.

The best part (besides the Easy Cheese) of the ill-fated night at Indigo District last Saturday- me getting ready to try and throw the tater tot into Emily's mouth.  

Proof that I am in fact crazy- my phone and computer, both with the same backdrop. Note that I didn't take either of these pictures. Nice. 

A for Effort!

I've abandoned all of you since last Thursday! How could I? How could I be so cruel? Could it be the fact that I'm packing so that I can move? Maybe, just maybe...

Ok, so I've forgotten how much stuff I have. Books alone will take up a lot of room. Then there's the issue of the clothes and shoes. Ooooooh dear. But anyway, my mom is on her way up from Tucson. She should get here Wednesday, then we'll finish packing and clean and take off, hopefully Saturday. The trip back to Tucson will include a stop at the French consulate in LA to get my oh-so-necessary Visa and hopefully some time in San Diego (hooray!). It's strange to see the apartment with almost no furniture, but it really does make packing a lot easier. Right now it's hard to pack during the day, since it's been ridiculously hot here. And no, not nearly as hot as Tucson, but apartments here aren't really air conditioned, which makes the heat harder to take.

My final weekend in Eugene did not go as planned, but at least at this point in time, Monday night, I have read the new Harry Potter and seen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I loved both, but I can't decide which I liked better. Ask me tomorrow? I did just see the movie this evening, as our original Friday night plan dissolved upon seeing the mass amounts of people at the movie theatre. Yeah, wasn't really in a crowd mood. By Saturday I had regretted my decision not to pre-order the book, as I wanted to read it RIGHT NOW and whined endlessly to anyone who would listen. I did find a copy on Sunday though, and read away happily until I finished it Sunday night. Me? a dork? Never. Never, I tell you! Saturday night was supposed to be a chance for me to see a bunch of friends, but I learned that not everyone really checks their email often over the summer. So my final night at Indigo included seeing an ex and his girlfriend, avoiding them like mad all night, most of the few friends that showed showing up with their significant others, and me not being at all happy to be there for at least an hour and a half. And no, don't even think about complaining to me that you can't be single because everyone else has someone and you can't bear to be around them when you bring your boyfriend to nearly everything we do. Because that? Makes me upset. But Lucia came and brought me Easy Cheese as a momento to take to France and Emily let me try and throw a tater tot into her mouth from the other end of the table. For the record, if you ask Emily if you can do this, she'll say no, because she said I was only allowed because I was leaving. For another record, I missed. But an A for effort. But then Sunday rolled around and I had lunch with Emily's lovely family, in town visiting. So that made things better.

To answer a few questions- yes, those are all in fact my finger puppets, Pony-on-the-FInger needed a break, and the castle is my finger puppet theatre. Yes, really. Hey, what else would you expect from me?

Le quatorze juillet

Today was le quatorze juillet, known to most as Bastille Day, or to the even less-informed, the French National Holiday. Yip! So I thought to myself, self, how can you celebrated this day in your own special way? Self, what if you shared some sort of knowledge about the French with your friends? But where would this knowledge come from? Self, you idiot, you just got a MA in French? Oh yeah. But what to share? The lyrics to the French National anthem, La Marseilleise? Nah, not really. Pictures of France? Not so much. Well, self, you're not much help. Wait, wait- what about important moments in French history? Now that's what everyone wants to know about- historical events! Way to go self, you really came through in the end.

So, mes amis, thanks to self, I now present to you, another low-budget photo essay produced by Gina- "Selected Great Moments in French History in Finger Puppets." Oh, you thought it would be something normal? So learn something people! And yes, sorry, it goes from the bottom up. If you want to go chronologically from the beginning, that is.

(note- selections were based entirely on the whims of Gina, and may or may not accurately represent the most important parts of French history. Some events were eliminated due to their large scale and therefore their inability to be represented within the capacities possessed by Gina)

Pow! 20th century! War! Another war! In between those, Surrealism! Thanks to Surrealism, Gina has a Masters Essay. Thanks Andre Breton et compagnie! 

19th Century! Literature! Visible gag reflex from Gina! (note- Rachilde, Huysmans, this does not include you. Don't feel bad, you're cool). 

Revolution over. Napoleon, favorite of Bill and Ted, arrives on the scene. Crowns himself emperor, does pretty well for a while, has some problems at Waterloo. Whoops. 

Bastille stormed! 

18th Century! Libertinage! Revolution! Storming of the Bastille! Release of at least a few prisoners! Hooray! 

There was this other guy who wrote plays too- his name was Racine. Unlike Moliere, though, he liked to kill off his characters (stupid tragedy). His plays usually ended with at least one person dying (except Berenice! Thanks Emily!). But Phedre did include someone being killed by a sea monster, so he makes it on the 17th century list. 

The 17th century brought some more Louis, Versailles, and some pretty fance play-writing. One of those such writers was Moliere. He decided to go easier on future students and wrote comedies. They usually ended happily with people getting married and bad people being punished. 

Along comes the Renaissance. With the Renaissance comes Joachim du Bellay. He's sent to Italy, hates it, and spends hundreds of pages whining about how he wants to go back to France. These pages will become the bane of Gina's exam existence many years in the future. But really, lots of people went to Italy, France decided (after trying to conquer Italy, getting their king taken hostage, and realizing that this wasn't their best idea ever) it should be like Italy, and people wrote poems.  

France had some problems. So along comes Joan of Arc, the original guided by voices, and decides to save the country. She becomes a cross-dresser (but not in a drag-queen way), becomes a knight, and basically saves France's ass. To thank her, she's burned at the stake. Nice. 

Middle Ages! Kings! Queens! Castles! Knights! Courtly Love! Troubadours! Castles! Battles for Honor! Tournaments! Wild Beasts! Illuminated Manuscripts! Monks! Popes! More Courtly Love! Cupcakes! (all of the above is true with the possible exception of "cupcakes") 

So, there were these things called the Crusades. It was decided that the Holy Land needed to be reclaimed, so lots of people set out on a number of these crusades to take it back. Some were more reputable than others (one was apparently led by a duck...), and lots of people ended up dying along the way. It was cool enough to be the subject of a recent movie starring Orlando Bloom!  

If it's a castle, we must be in the Middle Ages!  

Charlemagne and his long white beard also fought the Saracens (although, honestly, a lot of time they accidentally killed other Christians, just like in the Crusades). One of his best warriors was Roland, whose eventual defeat is chronicled in La Chanson de Roland, known to French majors the world over! 

So, a bit later, along came this guy named Charlemagne. He did some cool stuff (cool enough to have a song about him sung by France Gall- Sacre Charlemagne!), like uniting parts of what would be France, and making all the churches do the same thing. But he also invented school, to become the bane of many a student's existence. 

Barbarians! Barbarians! Flee! Those barbarians, especially the Huns, were doing a pretty dandy number against the "French." Then along came Genevieve, who defended Paris against Attila and his Huns (I'm pretty sure she had help). People were pretty happy about this, so she became a saint later.

In the beginning, there were prehistoric people in what would become France. They thought it would be cool to put up some stones, in what I consider their version of interior decoration. They also used color and lines in an interesting way to create some of the first cave paintings.  

I've got a golden ticket...

Ok, I admit, it's not really golden. And it's not even really a ticket, but rather a receipt for a ticket. But it's from British Airways, and it came in the mail today, and it says that I'm leaving Phoenix August 15th, and that makes me happy. Yipyipyip! (god, I sound like one of those outer-space monsters from Sesame Street). But don't you love my tie-in with Willy Wonka? I made my dad rent that movie over and over and over when I was little (but to be fair- he rented it for me first, then I got addicted). I even have the soundtrack (dork!), because of that time I had to re-write a song for pref party. Hey, anyone else remember unwrapping all those Hershey Bars and re-wrapping them in purple, with the golden tickets inside? Wasn't that tedious? And honestly, new movie? Friday? Johnny Depp? I'll be there. And so will Jen, who informed me today that she actually wants to go and will not have to be dragged along on my whim.

I'm trying to make the most of this last span of time in Eugene. Last night Emily and her friend Jasmine and I made it out to Luckey's to see a French singer, Naim Amor, and his band perform. Funny thing is, he lives in Tucson now, but is from Paris. We have a connection! Mom told me to make sure to talk to him after the show (mooooom! it's not like I'm going to marry him), and for once I delivered and found out that even though I won't be able to see them again while I'm in Tucson, I will catch them in Lyon, strangely enough on a tour that Tucson bands are doing of France. Fits it with the oddness of my life, though. He was very nice, and the show was actually really good. I would have been perfectly ok with just spending some time with the two lovely ladies, but it was wonderful to have good music too. Plus, any music in French tends to make me happy. I think that'll change next year, n'est-ce pas? There was also a guy there who looked like Marc, which confused me the entire night. Emily and Jasmine and I were crazy, as usual, and had a bang-up time. We made fun of other people's outfits (bitchy!), checked out cute guys (flirty!) and drank (lushes!). I still need to see more people, though, so here's the plan. LISTEN UP EVERYONE!!! Especially if you're in Eugene. But, you know, I think that everyone who reads this is from a place other than Eugene. So listen up if you love me a lot and are willing to purchase a plane ticket. I want to get everyone I can together Saturday night, possibly at Indigo for an "Au revoir Eugene" fling. Let's face it, my apartment isn't really big enough to hold many people, so having this at a public place is really the only option. If you really are interested, call or email me. I'm going to send out an email to basically everyone I've ever met in Eugene, so this could be interesting. Or it could be me and Emily and Jen, which would also be cool. You should all come, especially since there's always the possibility that I'll do something ridiculous, which is funny for other people.

I made pad thai tonight, simply because I happened to have a mix for it around. I don't often use mixes for things, but this was ok (just not spicy enough! Thanks a lot Trader Joe's). I've been making myself by small amounts of things at the market so that I have to keep going out (get out of the house Gina!), and when I went tonight, I found out that chicken was on sale. How happy! It's the little things that make you happy. Chicken sale! Cluck cluck! Oh wait, that might not be funny. Sorry everyone.

Oh oh! Emily and I saw Mad Hot Ballrom today at the Bijou. First, any movie seen at the Bijou theatre is made cooler by the simple fact that the Bijou is awesome and used to be a church. Secondly, this little documentary is great. For anyone who lives in a box and doesn't know about it (okok, so maybe it'd have to be a really really big box), it's a film about 5th graders in New York City who have to take ballroom dance and how they prepare for the city-wide competition. Because this is Eugene and everyone seems to be generally happy and love other people, the audience in the movie theatre clapped after performances. How sweet. That's what this movie is, sweet. Definitely not the best I've ever seen, but worth trying. And seriously people, little kids ballroom dancing is cool. I worry that some of them may be better than I would be.

Ta da! I'm done for the night!

And that, mes amis, is the long and short of it. 5 weeks stand between me and the airport. Actually, at this time in 5 weeks, I'll be on the plane to London. Oh fuck, this whole wave of nervousness and being scared just washed over me. AHHHHHHHHHH. Ok, slightly better now. Maybe we should talk about something else?

(there's a tres bizarre song going on through iTunes radio where someone just started naming the emperors of Rome. Why, I don't really know)

If you needed another reason to love my brother, here it is- today he IMd me to let me know that he bought me a madeleine pan. A MADELEINE PAN!!! How special is that? I've wanted one forever, because really, you can't make madeleines without one. Now I can finally try those earl-grey scented madeleines that I've wanted to make forever. It's waiting for me in Tucson. Mike's the best, isn't he?

(The naming of emperors continues, it must be the chorus)

My god, my dishwasher is loud. I mean, unnaturally loud. But at least I remembered to run it tonight, as opposed to my usual problem with forgetting to start it. Well, yeah.

If I'm talking about my dishwasher, it means that I really have nothing else interesting to say. So, good night?

ps- yes, I took the picture myself. After over a year and a half, I discovered that not only does my digie camera have a timer, but it's remarkably easy to use. Way to go, me.