bobbins and ball jars
Current mood: productive

i've been so crafty in the absence of those pesky hundreds of pages of reading that needed attention every week.

in the past five days, i've made tangerine marmalade, knited half a scarf, baked about seventy dozen fruitcakes (dolly madison's recipe), and made candles in teacups.

it's amazing how much i get done when i have nothing to do.  

oh! and my mom, who is moving out of her house, discovered a number of things in the basement that she put down there after the *last* time she moved.  seven years ago.  this is testament to my mom's total nuttiness. but anyway, i have a typewriter now.

11:58 PM - 3 Comments - 1 Kudos - Add Comment

rosetta!
Current mood: accomplished

i have a new bicycle!
i found it on craigslist yesterday and christine went to los gatos with me to pick it up.
it's a 19" women's scwinn from the 80s.
12 speeds.
gray with pink and silver writing.
drop bars.

doesn't squeal like a fucking banshee.

i decided to name her rosetta because it sounds like a black folk singer from the 60s (not just because it rhymes with odetta).

it was about time.

12:17 PM - 5 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

today:
Current mood: nerdy

it is pretty outside today! hooray!

i was getting tired of being damp all the time, particularly since my apartment was built forever ago and has no ventilation. and some of the windows are painted shut.

so today, here's what i'm doing:
-class at 9.30
-work on a paper : /
-ride my bike to the river and have a picnic lunch
-go to the farmer's market and buy fruit
-go to trader joe's and buy spices and greek yogurt
-write a letter to my aunt
-water my garden
-another class
-guest lecture from amy goodman! she of npr fame! i love npr.
-call bad steve to get burritos and beer.

la vie, c'est bonne.

11:01 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

my baby gave me malaria hysteria
Current mood: okay

Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted


What essential indie rock album are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Currently listening : Experimental Jet Set, Trash & No Star By Sonic Youth Release date: 10 May, 1994

7:57 PM - 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

five degrees celcius
Current mood: cold

... 5 degrees C is like 40 degrees F which feels a lot colder than it sounds. i have a cut on one of my toes where the next-door freak-toe nail knocks into it but i keep forgetting to cut it because i can't feel it when i'm walking. because it's too damn cold.

it was pitch fucking black at half past four today.

i'm taking a class in swedish. the lectures are in swedish, anyway. the books are in english. it's a great class (human rights anthro) but you know... reading about human rights violations is a bit depressing.

i'm going to london this weekend to see seb! woohoo!

i'm going to germany in a few weeks on a road trip with 2 korridor mates! hooray!

i'm coming home in a little over a month! hurra hurra hurra hurra! (this is swedish for hip hip hooray!)

Currently listening : Buddy Holly - Greatest Hits By Buddy Holly Release date: 14 March, 1995

7:58 PM - 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

too... much... candy...
Current mood: groggy

my friends and i had a halloween party last night. they all wore very classic halloween costumes-- fairy, mad scientist, grim reaper, etc.

my american friend and i were andy warhol (me) and a prisoner from abhu grabe (him). no one got our costumes. they also didn't get that the point of halloween is to predispose yourself to diabetes, so we ate their share of candy too.

i need to go buy milk to fend off impending canker sores...

Currently listening : Astral Weeks By Van Morrison Release date: 25 October, 1990

11:20 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

little professor
Current mood: pleased

that's what i've been feeling like recently. i want to surround myself in tweedy clothes and old books and vintage teacups and homemade bread objects.

oooh! i have new pajamas! i ordered them online. they're light blue with clouds, just like my old ones, except now i have new ones that have not been worn for so many years that they have been rendered transparent and buttonless.

last night two of my friends and i got into a heated discussion with two bartenders in three languages in order to procure a scotch and soda, which i didn't think was that complicated a drink, or else i wouldn't have ordered it. but they were volunteer bartenders and i guess in sweden most people call it scotch whiskey. i finally did get my drink and drank it while dancing to "fire in the disco." also, i met a guy wearing blue eyeshadow and a t-shirt that said "socialist." awww, swedish anti-capitalists.

Currently listening : The Velvet Underground By The Velvet Underground Release date: 07 May, 1996

6:08 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

autumn is a good name for this season
Current mood: like i ate too much sugar

... it jsut kinda sounds like what it is. to me anyway.

fall is such a crazy season! it's so weird... i like it a lot, but it just surprises me, i guess because we don't really have it in california. the leaves actually change into all these amazing colors here and it freezes at night and it's actually necessary to bundle up and stuff. i know these things shouldn't be notable as they occur in much of the northern hemisphere in october, but... you know.

i just ate a bunch of sugar and now i feel all cracked out.

oh, speaking of things that make you cracked out, i tried snus last night; snusing is how swedish boys take tobacco. it comes in mini-teabags and you put them in your mouth. as i don't smoke, i got a really crazy nicotine rush. i felt all tingly all over. it was gross and i'm never doing it again.

even fall activities are different from summer ones. i've been taking a bunch of walks, knitting, and watercoloring (poorly, but it's fun). and reading, of course.

my mom's coming to visit! on wednesday!

oh, and i think i'm going to be andy warhol for halloween, which would necessitate generous bleaching of my hair. thoughts?

5:38 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

hejsan!
Current mood: pensive

i just saw the magnetic fields in copenhagen! they were amazing. i got there a bit late, but just in time to hear "i don't really love you anymore." sigh. i promptly made up my mind to stick around after the show and try to seduce stephen merrit, but remembered about half an hour later that he's gay. i'll have to hold out for jonathan safran foer. in the meantime...

You Should Date A Swede! You're a romantic, albeit an understated and practical one. It's more about a steady partnership for you, not unrestrained falling Your Swede will give you the unwavering love you crave While making up some mean pancakes and meatballs on the side! Which Foreign Guy Should You Date? Take This Quiz :-) Find the Love of Your Life (and More Love Quizzes) at Your New Romance.

2:36 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

life in sweden...

i went to stockholm last weekend with two buddies, heather and eric. we took the night train up there and then for two days we basically walked around and went to cafes. it was great. we also saw supersize me, went to the zoo, and had dinner with some of heather's relatives at their house, which was probably my favorite part of the weekend. it was good to see a family again.

classes are going well; this past week i had a field trip to the oldest movie theater in sweden. but in order to go i had to miss another class and the day i missed was the day everyone else learned to knit like the vikings did! boo!

i joined a choir this week. i love choirs. i'm such a dork. we're singing three traditional swedish songs, two of which are about alcohol. also, we are singing an a capella version of... "hit me baby one more time." it's funny to hear swedes sing britney songs.

made a natural bread starter this week; dough made with it is rising presently. hope it works out.

i miss everybody!

5:32 PM - 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment