Meditation2

Euro trip photos: Sierre, Switzerland

View from our window. Mathias (sp?). Me and Mike after the drunken swim.

Why do all my boyfriends love flipping the camera off? Matthew, Mike's roommie. Mike.

Happy, Jean, Joy, Mike. The school. Samsom, Mike's other roommate.

Who? Me?

If anyone asks, I have an arranged marriage match ready for me in South Korea when I am 27 so I am not allowed to date. Ever. Okay?

Did you know St. Monica is the patron saint of married women? Yeah, I know.

bienvenue/bienvenido/welcome

Ahhh, back home at last. I have many amusing tales to tell but I'm feeling too gross right now to write any of them down. I need a long shower, a pound of concealer, hair paste, and a good coffee.

not soon enough

I called my brother and he said that Dad is no longer flying in tomorrow with me-- he is coming in about two weeks instead.

I cried about two tears from embarassment today. It involved Mike being pissed off about the hostel's check-in time and the hostel manager not having any of it. Ugh... it was so.... ugh.

I'm never flying Iberia airlines again. I will probably never visit Switzerland again.

This Swiss girl is growing impatient of my using the computer for precisely 8 minutes.

I cannnot wait to get home.

secret message: See you soon, "Bart."

no importa

just a post to yet you know that i'm still alive but after drinking a whole bottle of wine the other night i'm surprised i made it home in one piece.

it's so freaking humid. blehhhh.

i bought a very euro looking top yesterday that says "yes" in big sans serif letters on the front. very yoko.

today i think i will be touring barcelona's funky architecture and hopefully get rid of this farmer's tan. everyone here has the best tans, fuck fake in bake in a bottle.

the world is a hankerchief

Once again on a foreign language keyboard. Typing will continue to be slightly off...

Flight to Barcelona was fine but Iberia changed the flights without saying anything and suddenly we ended up flying on Swiss Air. They charge for food on the plane. Those bastards! They did give out a little piece of chocolate though.

I went the Joan Miro museum yesterday. I can die now.

Las Ramblas, the street where all the tourists end up was pretty cool. Unfortunately for Mike I've discovered that girlie accesories are super cheap here-- he's gonna be spending a lot of time in tiny stores with tons of tiny sparky things. tee hee.

I tried two spanish specialities so far:
1. squid in ink: surprisingly tasty but definitely not a date food. my whole mouth was black with ink. Mike thought it was the most "amazing" food he's ever seen and I'm not completely sure what "amazing" means to him.
2. cava (spanish sparkling wine): can't complain about champagne!

Tapas bars: too cool.

I went to a restuarant callled Oolong last night that was listed in the Lonely Planet guide. Oooh, sooo tasty. I'm really digging this whole set menu thing and eating three courses for lunch. Nobody here seems to give a shit about breakfast but lunch, oh yes senor.

Mmm... I'm hungry.

Sierre

Sierre, Swizterland is an interesting place. The art school here hasn't been around that long. There isn't a whole lot to do in the summer. There's a cult of white clad people here apparently that was in the news a bit a while ago. The front yards of many of the homes here have grape vines and tomato plants. There's a train station, lots of bars, some nightclubs, a hospital...

Mike is here for a study abroad class he's taking and the Swiss school here is right next to the town hospital. It's a very small art school with no cafeteria so the students eat at the hospital cafeteria. I ate there today. It's.... well... hospital food.

Last night there was a farewell dinner at the restuarant in the building that houses almost all of the students in Mike's class. We ate dinner together and celebrated the teacher's son's 3rd birthday. He drooled all over the cake so we were careful to not eat the top of the cake. After dinner we sat outside the resturant drinking beer and wine. Some of the boys played football while the girls sat around gossiping. I was filled in on all the couplings or attempted couplings-- it's so summer camp!

Later it there was lightning, a clap of thunder, and a sudden pouring of warm summer rain. Most of the group (summer class students plus some regular school year students) went upstairs but some of us stayed downstairs. I went upstairs but the two girls playing a tiny keyboard was completely unfun and i went back outside to sit under and umbrella and talk with the group.

One of the girls suggested that we jump in the lake so some of us took off. They stripped down and jumped in. I don't know how to swim so I did take my clothes off to try to blend in with the three other girls and the three guys with the intention of maybe getting in. Mike decided for me and pulled me in. The water was warm but we didn't stay there too long. A Swiss lake in the middle of the night, a slight breeze, a bit of rain, early 20s international girls and boys. Samsom brough a tray with his wine glass into the lake with him.

Another girl threw Mike's boxers into the water so he pushed her into the water in her jeans. She spit in his face when she got out. I just laughed and pulled my clothes over my soaked underwear.

Afterwards we hunted for a bar in the rain. It was late on a Sunday so it was a tough to find one. We went to two bars that closed as soon as we had ordered drinks. At the second bar the men we met there took us to a strip club that was still open. We had wine but I never saw any strippers. I'm never gonna see strippers!

It was pretty cold in the rain and my underwear was still wet so the one girl who went with us stood in front of me in the middle of the street in front of the bar while I pulled my underwear off from under my skirt . First time I've ever been so bold to do that but one thing leads to another...

Tonight I'm taking the train to Geneva and then flying to Barcelona tomorrow morning. I'm so excited!

Bonjour!

So here I am in switzerland. This keyboard is a a french one so some of the letters on the keys are in different places the Y is where the X should be for example.

I left my apartment at 2:00 PM on Thursday and it took me until 9ish PM (Swiss time) on Friday to arrive at the apartment Mike is staying at. He's living with two other Swiss boys who go to the art school here in this town of 10,000 people. The locals look at me funny, I think, because I'm asain and this is a small backwater town. I know almost no french so communicating is a but tough. This is about all the french of know and i might even be wrong on some of them:
Please. see boo play
Thank you. merci
Thank you very much. merci bow coo
Hello. bonjour.
Bye. au revior
With. avec.
I don't know. je ne se qua.
Do you speak english? parlay voo anglias?
Cheese. fromage.
Excuse me. excoos ze moi.
Exit. sortiee
Entrance. entree
Passenger. pass ah ge
Toilet. toillette

Uh, I think that's about it. I know a few more food related words. Speaking of food, it's horrible here. I ate at a grocery store cafeteria yesterday. And there were a lot of people there and it was 10 fracs (1 franc is about 85 cents). Everything is also expensive. The chocolate isn't too shabby and bread everywhere is great. I did get sick from a sandwich I ate for lunch though.

Mike and I spent way to much time trying to figure out how to use a washing machine. You think it would be easy enough since the washing machine only had icons on it.

Oh my flight over to Europe...
I flew into Paris with no problem. My single serving friends were decent enough. There was young German man to my right and older American woman to my left. The woman drank every last drop of her cocktail and wine and alternated betwen the new David Sedaris book and napping. The young man read one of those paperbacks with the embossed gold type on it and listened to his iPod. I tried to watch Love Actually but the screen was too far away and I quit trying to strech my neck to see the movie. I read Vernon Little God and sleep but neither went to well. I was thinking too many other things. I was happy to finally land in Paris 10.5 hours later. I took a shuttle to catch my connecting flight and found out it was delayed. No problem, I thought. Happens all the time. Well, as it turns out there's a strike going on and they can't get fuel in the plane. They don't know when the plane can take off. We all wait. People get upset. Some people leave, the rest of us wait. I see this familiar face at the gate counter-- it's a model but I can't think of where I've seen here. I spent the next half hour trying to remember what ad I seen her in and finally rememberd, Ralph Lauren. She's in a white and blue outfit, maybe it's a bikini. Anyway, she looks younger in person but still unfairly beautiful. I was supposed ot board the plane at 12:20 PM but we didn't get on until 3:45 or so. I was worried that Mike wouldn't be able to fine me. He didn't give an address or a working phone number so I couldn't call. My flight ended up being about 2.5 hours long instead of 1 hour and 10 minutes because we had to get fuel in the middle of in France. Whoopie. I was a bit freaked out that Mickey wouldn't find me, I woudln't find him but as I exited the customs area I saw this very tall man. In a yellow tshirt. In cool fashionable jeans. With no hair. He looked like a cross between Billy Corgan and Matt Damon. Oh, shit. It was Mickey. Hmph. He's been Euroized and I was very pleased to see him.

Ugh, tired of typing. But here's something funny Mickey noted: "None of them have boxsprings or beds. I wonder if it's cultural or they're just poor."

Au revoir, adios, auf wiedersehen

I'm leaving at 4:15 PM today to go on my trip to Switzerland and Barcelona. I might be posting. I'll be back on the 27th!

More ranting about music festivals

Hmm... Live 105's presale of the Curiosa* festival is tomorrow at 10 am. I don't have much time to decide if I want to shell out $49.50+service fees to see The Cure, The Rapture, and Interpol. Now, I guess I would pay about $20 to see each of those bands individually but a festival means short sets so. I guess it could be worth it. Why Festivals? Why must you make good bands suck???
*The Cure, Interpol, The Rapture, Mogwai, Cursive, The Cooper Temple Clause, HeadAutomatica

edFuck it, I'm not going.

Show: Vue, Evening, Black Cat Music

Dan, John, my brother, and I all went to the Bottom of the Hill show last night. My brother truthfully said that he really didn't care too much for any of the bands that played last night. Oh well. Dan thought that Evening has played better. (Did the new drummer throw things off?) I've always felt that their singer wasn't so good, but maybe he's the mastermind and without him they would suck. Black Cat Music was alright. It was the singer's, Brady, birthday and he seemed happy to play music for us. Although it was a trip to see this guy who I used to be in classes with being a rocker. Vue was the best band of the night. Every member of the band had tons of movement and energy and what's not to like that about that. That's the kind of band I'd want at a party.

Most of my photos didn't turn out too well.

Black Cat Music

Vue

Thanks go to Dan for coming out of his dungen in the Far East [Bay] and to John for buying me a beer! Oh, and of course to my brother even though we've made an unsaid agreement that he not read my website. :)

A Cure

Sometimes when you're down the best thing to do is to turn up your favorite song and dance around your room in undies.

::dances::

"If that is art, I'm a truck.”

Ronald McDonald imposter stuns diners. I love "artists." My Graphic Agitation instructor should have had us do a performance art peice...

Poem: Possibility

In his room she leans in
listening

pondering possibilities
thinking of restraints

how beautiful it would be
to fly solo again

how safe
is this cocoon

without any
wiggle room

the fear sets in
unready to protect

wanting to break away
hoping he won't mind

pretending to look away
taking a peek

she glances at her wrist
checking time

pondering possibilities
thinking of restraints

saying nothing and
signaling yes

opening up and
keeping secrets

she takes her time and
puts it in her pocket

leans in close and
listens

savoring possibility
putting aside restraint.

Jesus!

Uh, some cult movies reach the status of, well, a cult. And they're all gathering together. It's like a Star Trek convention except that everyone is wearing hair nets and purple bowling shirts.

I need to get off the computer...

Foodie at first sight

Typeface hunting

Everywhere I go I'm looking for the next instance of trendy Bank Gothic ("I, Robot" posters, "Day After Tomorrow" posters, Mytnz packaging). Looks like the use of Gotham is more refined and respectable choice for the 9/11 memorial. Tasty typogpraphy.

OMG... the things people share with the public

This is just too hillarious for words.

Before I let you get away

feeling strangely romantic
a little lonely
a little longing
they played the song
that reminds you of me
dancing alone
in my socks
around my room
my eyes closed
head turned up
to dream
about the alps
in july
suddenly
i feel like falling up
and finding you

It's only Nara, but I like him

Yoshitomo Nara is coming to San Jose Museum of Modern Art! But I will be out of town. Damnit. At least I can go see the show and buy the catalogue.

The Girls @ Bottom of the Hill 07/01/2004

No pictures of Eric playing the keyboard! :( Here are mostly pictures of The Girls and some pictures of The Briefs. I particularly like the picture of Zache with Steve.

Happy 4th of July

The Nathan's Famous annual hot dog eating contest winner is once again Takeru Kobayashi. Second place is Sonya Thomas, a tiny woman! Breaking stereotypes... I love that. I feel like eating a veggie dog.

Lomo blur time

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

I drank enough coffee at my usual breakfast spot to be giddy but not jittery. I think I'm annoying the hell out of Mickey. Poor guy had to deal with me coming into his apartment at 3:30 AM last night and invading his bed with my cold feet and hands and now I pin him in a corner as I sing and dance horribly while he's trying to have a serious conversation on the telephone. Perhaps he needs time away from me more than I need time away from him.

I went to Great America on Wednesday which has now turned into Spongebob Squarepants Land and that's fine with me. Mickey got me a Spongebob Squarepants sutffed toy and the pineapple house toy. It's sooo cute! It was terrific to go back to place I spent so many summer days at as a kid and it remaining mostly the same. Top Gun is still my favorite roller coaster and I still ate my standard Great America lunch, fries and a chocolate/vanilla swirl soft serve cone. The weather was great too. I love roller coasters. I got the WOW card so now I can go back without paying more. There's nothing else quite like screaming your head off in controlled fear creating contraptions.

I went to Bottom of the Hill last night and got to hang out with Zache again. I'll write about that later.