Trick or Treat?
As I was very conscious of the fact that I would be in London over Halloween, I made sure to pack my pussycat ears. They don't really do Halloween in London...they instead have Guy Fawkes Day on which they make effigies of Guy Fawkes and burn them. Strange Brits...but anyhow, I wore my ears to dinner where I saw a guy wearing devil horns. Wagamama dimmed the lights halfway through dinner and the rest of the time I was there, I nervously waited for what I was sure would be their Halloween trick of ghouls and zombies storming in.
Every city in 100 words or less.
Venice: Very crowded with narrow walkways that make it seem even more crowded. I had the BEST food of the entire trip there. Buses are amazing. Their bus stops are just a narrow pole hidden amidst a forest of trees, but once you find the buses, you don't even have to sneak around the fact that you're not going to pay. The bus driver can see you sit down and he won't stop you. Shopkeepers are complete asses. My name was plastered everywhere! Tolentini this, Tolentino that...apparently it means people who came from Israel. I was quite confused. Gelato, gelato, gelato.
Paris: Nothing is open on Sunday. NOTHING. Not even coffee shops. Brie and pate are still amazing in France. And yes indeed, wine is by far the cheapest drink on the menu. They watch some weird things on TV - like late-night mimes. The Louvre has a dizzying amount of stairs and as is expected, a huge crowd in front of a tiny Mona Lisa. The light-up Metro maps are heaven sent at midnight when all you want to do is find your hotel as fast as you can and plop down on the bed.
Barcelona: Absolutely beautiful. I enjoyed this city the most of all. They don't speak Spanish, they speak Catalan. Hardly anyone speaks English. The Metro is very smelly. Their street performers are so creative. They aren't only painted gold, they are people waking up in bed, Cleopatra, painters, men covered in fruit, and so much more. On La Rambla (a street), they have a crazy mix of hostels, street performers, outdoor pet shops, and restaurants. Finally a European city with decent prices - almost American-priced! Their aquarium has a leaf-seahorse and the shop has lots of candy that strangely isn't fish-themed.
Amsterdam: Wow I think I spent most of this city in a deep stupor starting with the Heineken Experience and ending with an Irish pub and a boy who bought the drinks. The city was so seedy what with the coffeeshops being dim and filled with smoke and the red lights on our street even though the red-light district didn't officially start for blocks. I can't believe that 1) you can buy your prostitute from a window 2) they're not trying to be sexy, they're on their cell phones. Biking was scary. The canals were more beautiful than in Venice.
London: We did it! For awhile, I wasn't sure if I was going to come back in one piece, but here I am! My roommates are all out and although they've taken over every bit of personal space I had, I'm all right. I've got some mood lighting going and Lisa Loeb playing at top volume. I didn't know that I was going to miss London as much as I did! I like to do things when I go on holiday, so I feel tired, not relaxed, but I'm so glad that I went. Gotta get ready for school tomorrow! =)
Going on holiday
Okay, chickadees. Today is the day! I leave for Venice in only a few hours and I'm nervously finishing up all that needs to be taken care of. Itinerary - Check. (Ohmigod you should see the work of art that is my insanely detailed itinerary.) Money - Check. Packed - Check. Check-out from UC - Check.
When you leave your flat for more than 24 hours, technically, you're supposed to "check-out" by going to the UC Bloomsbury site, and telling them that you're leaving. After you're done, they say "make sure you go to the American Department of State website so that you're not travelling anywhere that has a travel warning." For fun, I clicked it. Things that didn't shock me too much showed up: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, the Congo, Columbia...and all the way at the bottom, third from the end is the Philippines. Good to know I risked my life going over there.
I've really gotta run. I don't think I'll be updating for awhile because I'm not planning on spending all of my precious break time in internet cafes, so take care until I get back!
(4 cities in 9 days....what are we getting ourselves into?!?!?!)
Procrastination
...and then you realise you screwed yourself
Jesus. I haven't seen this time of morning since I was jetlagged coming here over a month ago and coudln't sleep in. Today, it is because I had my history term paper, 50% of my grade, due at 2. I finished it fifteen minutes ago, but I am at a loss as to my next course of action. It's too late to go home and sleep, it's too early to go to class or breakfast...so here I am.
Honestly, that paper was the worst shit I've ever written. It didn't have a thesis, or even vaguely a direction to go in, and I didn't read it over to see if it even made sense. Right now, six pages of my crappy writing don't sound like fun times. I wish I had had more time for that literature paper though, because if the rest of the paper progressed the way the first two paragraphs were going, that would have been the best paper of my life.
There's history at 10-12 then seminar 2-3 then british museum where I'll have a MIDTERM that I haven't finished studying for from 4:30-6. I still have to write my gallery review.
I think I'll give in and sleep for an hour and a half...on these rolling chairs...
this is super rushed. -- edit
A few updates...1) I was thinking about moving to a different url, but I think I'll stay at this one until at least Halloween. If you'd like to know what my new address will be, e-mail me at cftolentino@ucdavis.edu. (I won't be posting the new address at oocities.com/thestrawberryknork) In the meantime, some parts of this site will be inactive. Sorry! 2) I found archives from 2001, so look forward to some embarassing freshman high school journal writing on the new site. (Maybe the prospect of seeing my foolish young writing is enough for you to want to follow me to the new home?) 3) I have 2 papers and a midterm tomorrow and I'd be freaking out if I wasn't so tired right now. 4) Today is Maureen's birthday in almost every time zone! so Mo, if I don't get to send you your happpy birthday e-mail in time for your real birthday, here is a mini-happy birthday to tide you over and I hope you have a wonderful day!
P.S. Oh my god my writing was so awful. I can't read it anymore. I'm running away in shame. I just the thing I needed to see before I wrote coherent college essays...
16th of October, 2005
In addition to the seven books I have already taken out from the library (and god knows how many I'll take out tomorrow) for the big history paper, I also have five internet windows open and I have discovered the joy of making them smaller and arranging them so I can see them all at the same time. ...So as you can see, I haven't gotten much done in the way of the paper.
I'm thinking about making a break for it away from papers and tests one of these days. I'm also thinking about opening a restaurant that serves pizza and sushi and dessert. See how rational I am?
2 months until my birthday! Two years ago in 2003, I just had come back from work. It was and odd day because I finally got that stupid whirly pin that you get for completing training even though I had already been working there for 3 months. I remember hating Vicki for crawling up my ass about it, but loving Damian because he was always so nice to me. In 2004, I was reflecting, strangely enough, on my birthday. I lived in Davis in a dorm and was already having trouble in math class. I loved light-jacket nights and hated drama. I was one day away from getting my cartilage pierced. In 2005, I am listening to the "transatlanticism" album thinking about how fitting it is because I have actually crossed the atlantic and sad because they're going to San Francisco in November and I won't be there to hear them and how lucky those bitches are in Santa Clara because they'll be coming directly to the university ... our guard borrowed a roll of toilet paper - quaint? Lauren is trying to light her cigarette on the electric stove. Bothered because I ran out of space to write and had to open a new page. Met Becca's boyfriend from home. They're making cookies - yum. I'm off to take a shower - either in the one that doesn't work or the one that floods.
