Mini

Miniature versions of foods, mainly produce and meats, freak me out. Cocktail weenies, baby corn, and those small French pickles called cornichons. Cauliflower isn't small but it reminds me of brains.

Baby carrots are an exception.

Hold tight

I'm working on a post of all of my random memoires from France that includes pictures, links and the like.

More adjustment

Sun, where are you? What the heck Oregon? I'm going to lose my European glow!

Nothing is in French. Ugh. I'm avoiding everything American and fast-faced by being a hermit in my room. Although, I did go for a run this morning. My lung capacity increased. Thank you Grenoble!

Just ate a Bueno. HEAVEN.

Back to American life

I'm home. It's weird. I keep thinking that tomorrow I'm going to wake up in Grenoble, where things are normal, go to class, see my friends, spend time with Patrick in the jardin de ville...the usual.

La France, tu me manques.

It's already decided, I have to find an international internship next summer.

PS: I'd forgotten how unnecessarily large American vehicles are and how everything is so horizontal and sprawling.

Never wanting to leave

I'm leaving tomorrow and am finally used to the French keyboards. So much to write about upon my return. I love life here and absolutely hate that I'm leaving. I met an amazing man who is perfect in every way. Finally. And we are a zillion time zones away.

Mental breakdown.

France!

France is amazing, beautiful and all things wonderful. Don't have a computer at home, so more later!

Packing is making me anxious and sweaty.

EDIT :: I just want to be there now! I can't sleep...so excited! It is supposed to be in the high 70's/low 80's in Paris for our first week.

EDIT 2 :: Looking at a French news website, there was a word I didn't know. I entered the sentence in Babelfish:

Steve Jobs aurait subi une greffe du foie. = Steve Jobs would have undergone a clerk's office of the liver.

BAHAHAHAHAHA!

More FR

Oh yes, I am going to Grenoble, France to study abroad. Not sure the nature of my courses yet, as they depend on my placement tests.

Today I added two more things to my list of life goals:
-Attain my pilot's license, then fly at night
-Visit Argentina, specifically Buenos Aires


Iguazu Falls, Argentina

One that was added in the past week or so:
-Become LEED accredited by graduation in 2011

I recorded the word "faaaaaart?" in one of those voice recording greeting cards the other day. Someone is going to get a nice surprise. Hehe. I'm so mature for my age.

Recap

France is one week away!! The only thing I'm worried about is not being able to express myself fully, say what I want or understand everything. Other than that, I am so completely excited to have an completely new experience and augmenter my French skills! I've been trying to read at least one French article every day in preparation.

Brent and I have not talked since we left town a few days ago. I think it's better that way, to try to get over him. I doubt he'll grow up this summer and become the man I know he can be.

I went a little blonder...you know, to make it even more obvious that I am American haha. My hair looked sad with all that dirty blonde. Had to give it back some life!

Allergies are terrible this year.

Senior year recap: When I think about being a senior in college, I feel OLD and that I should be much more mature. bahaha You have to grow old but you never have to grow up! I've definitely grown emotionally and relationship-wise. I've learned to take more risks. This school year has been one of the best. I've met and become close with so many different people from class and the different organizations on campus. It was the busiest year yet but the most rewarding and socially diverse. I've decided to get a one bedroom apartment next year for my fifth year. I couldn't take Marie trying to burn down the house one more time. Three years with her would have been too much. Luckily, this hasn't seemed to have affected our friendship. Some of my close friends are graduating. This next year and a half will be very different without them. I will definitely feel lost without Whitney.

Random life updates

Upgrading Tiger to Leopard does NOT work well. All of my important files are on an external and my actual computer is currently without an operating system.

I leave for France in 1 month and 10 days!

Brent doesn't want a relationship but continually wants to hang out. You men are weird.

Body Sculpting has made me so buff!

That is all for now.

Covering my seat

I'm now one of those people who carries a plastic bag to cover their bike seat just in case it rains.

Things with Brent are a train wreck. We patched things up and then something else happened a week ago and hasn't been normal since. I'm not going to let him go..."you lose 100% of the shot you don't take." I hope it's not too late.

The way I are

Filling out study abroad paperwork is STRESSFUL.

After this program, Timbaland and I will both be singing, "I ain't got no money, I ain't got no car to take you on a date." Ironically, I didn't even have a car last night! It was towed from my friend's apartment complex even though I was parked in her space. Dang that permit parking and $250 towing fees.

PS: This song is perfect for roboting.

New

New layout finally! Blogger has a new layout editor and oh my gosh it's amazing. It makes life so much easier without having to mess with the HTML. If I could hug blogger, I would. There is a slideshow "gadget" that I will add soon for your visual pleasure. Props to the people who created the improved features.

I'm having all sorts of man drama right now. My main concern is Brent. I'd been trying to drop my preconceived notion of him being a drunken idiot but who on the contrary is extremely smart and athletic. I finally gave into hanging out in attempt to turn over a new leaf after our ahem...night of passion a few months ago. But it went terribly wrong and now he's upset at me. Unfortunately, I just realized how much potential sober Brent contains. I want to sit down and have an honest conversation with him about everything after we return from spring break.

Going to Lake Tahoe for spring break with a new camera that actually takes pictures without pointing it at a bright light haha. Ol' 5-lb reliable lasted for over four years.

Speaking of age, Unpredictable has been around in some sort of way for 8 YEARS!!! Ahh, it makes me feel ancient and I'm not even old!

Only in college...

Only in college is it acceptable for a girl to meet a guy at a bar, dance and talk all night, allow him to continuously buy her drinks, go back to his parents "McMansion", pass out in his bed fully clothed, wake up to his older sister wondering whose high heels were by the door, meet his mom who kindly offers bagels and juice for breakfast like it's no big deal, then tell the guy "I don't do random makeouts" when he tries to kiss you while laying in his bed.

A constant battle: Trying to be more positive and push away negative energy that stems from my mind and sometimes come out of my mouth.

Something I'm looking into: Voluntary Simplicity. I recently learned about it from a workshop at the Sustainability Center...love that place and the people.

My ideas to remodel the Sustainability Center's basement are flowing. Things are starting to get underway with the technical construction issues. I have great visions for the end result.

All my single ladies

Pilates class has given me hardcore abs. Just one hour, twice a week. I love flexing and poking them, solely to feel how toned they are. Bahaha!

Devoting this time to wish you a Happy Singles Awareness Day!

I've recently begun volunteering at the Sustainability Center on campus. Upon discovering my interior design major, they asked me to re-do the entire basement into a lounge/meeting area. I've never done anything remotely close to a real project before but am thrilled, honored and not one bit apprehensive. The people there are great...well, the guys mostly. I accidentally flirted with a few (shhhh). Some of the women seemed skeptical.

The economy is terrible. Everything is closing and crumbling down. Obama, save us! At least gas is under $2. Funny: Bush-inspired Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Flavor

Cute coffee shop guys = dud. Seemed like he was still in love with his ex-girlfriend. He's an amazing drummer though.

PS: Not everything has been finalized yet but I'm going to study in Grenoble, France this summer!!

Obama!

What an exciting, emotional day. :) I'm looking forward to the next 4 years of Obama's office. I haven't been able to catch much of the inauguration day coverage, except for a few speech excerpts and speculations about when Obama would be getting out of the limo. The only quality youtube video tweaks out on my compy. :\

"Cute coffee shop boy" and I from last term have been seeing each other a lot recently. The possibility of this becoming something more does not scare me. Maybe I am a changed woman. He's even breaking my space bubble and making me more comfortable with touching and being touched. He's a drummer too...Hot!

Anyway, I'm feeling emotionally weird and distant. So I'm going to do my nails and go to sleep.

Too many lovers

All of the sudden, I have all these guys at my feet and have no idea what to do. I made an error in judgement a few weeks ago that will probably cost me a friendship after I break his heart. I feel terrible yet strangely exhilarated by all this man attention.

Kauai was beautiful. I found my favorite beach in the entire world, Kaena Beach on the North end of the island. Pounding clear-blue waves, surrounding by imposing green mountains...Paradisio! I fell in love with the landscape, relaxed lifestyle and free ukulele lessons. I wouldn't mind having a house on that island someday. There was also something quite beautiful about the transients all over the island. They came from all walks of life and were completely free from. I would never have the balls to do that but secretly dream to.

My first studio class for Interior Design has started and I'm completely and utter excited to finally be doing something with my hands! No more bookwork. A few months ago, I attended to an interior design conference and it went GREAT. I walked into the featured building and thought, "This is what I want to do." It was a perfect revelation of sorts. I want to rennovate old buildings and make them LEED certified.

Green Macbooks!

Apple introduces green notebooks. It's about time! I want to get my hands on one of these babies to replace my poor, ailing (okay, old) Mac. This is so exciting. The impact of this on the computer world is HUGE! Within the next 2-3 years, all computers will be made like this or even better. Yes, minimizing waste and harmful compounds is a step in the right direction but eliminating them is even better. All this and more is in Cradle to Cradle (my other bible, next to He's Just Not That Into You), a great read for anyone who plans on living.

Coooold

It's 59 degrees in my room right now. It was probably colder in last year's apartment but my technologically advanced space heater has a digital thermostat to warn me of the coldness that lurks outside.

I got my second holes pierced in my lobes last night and taught people how to spray paint this afternoon. My cash funds are dwindling and I need some extra spending money. Today's paper said that the sensory lab on campus pays people for taste testing. Tempting. I've also thought about nude modeling for the art department. Not quite sure how to get in on that though.