So there I was at Target, wandering around this massive complex of a halogen-lit haven for low-income families looking for a power supply, so I would no longer have to unplug my fan to plug in my lamp, and so on. I found something similar to what I wanted, so I headed back down to the escalator, staring in bored amazement at the cart-carrying escalator alongside. Unfortuantely, in their evil genius, the marketing reps at Target HQ decided to put the Halloween candy at the very bottom of the escalators, in wide view. I was fully aware of this blatant product display placement, yet I ended up buying 3 bags of sugar and fat-laden tasty bits anyway. Do I live in a residence that will be able to hand out candy to kids? No... I just love sweets. They are one of my few vices... damn you Target, damn you. 2 chemical headaches and a mid-day sugar crash later, I have vowed to ration them.
German word of the day: Korb (m) - Basket
That joy aside, the weather was awful, bringing a stubborn, driving rain for most of the game. The Ducks won, however, so at least it wasn't a repeat of the countless games I went to at Autzen stadium as a kid, putting garbage sacks over my legs to keep dry... just to see the Ducks lose yet again. Keeping with infamous tradition, we busted out the garbage sacks at this game as well, though it didn't really do much to help ward off the stream flowing down (and through) my "waterproof" coat. I had a hot dog and some nachos, and that was really all I wanted to do.. the Ducks win was an added bonus. The train ride back was relaxing, though a bit chilly, as the air in the car was on and my pants and t-shirt were half soaked from the rain. It didn't really bug me though, as the Ducks win mixed with the rain seemed to provide a poetic closure and some semblance of a happy ending to all those games from my youth. It was a good day.
I haven't received a single idea from anyone regarding writing subject matter, so I'm afraid I'll have to resort to more drastic measures. To help motivate you, I put up a photo of my dirty silverware. throw some ideas my way before it gets really ugly.
German word of the day: Dirty - Schmutzig
You open a window for ventilation, and shower to the light of a camping lantern. Then you go to a coffee shop, nab a toasted bagel, and head to class early to do your homework. It's my guess (from what I surveyed before heading to get my bagel) it looked like some sort of support line broke on the lines at the opposite side of the road, and that shorted out something. My whole block was without electricity for about 4 hours.
This morning, before my seemingly adventurous third-world shower (which, amazingly, had hot water), I found a 2-inch-long black pincher bug on my floor. I scooped it up to put it outside, but the damned thing clamped it's pinchers onto my flyswatter out of some sort of natural defense mechanism. I left the flyswatter in the planter so the jackass would let go while I was in class, but when I came back the pincher had apparently died. Very odd, these insects...
It rained in waves of bombastic fury today. I love the rain, but my love is not so great when I have to ride my bike 10 blocks to campus and back for class every single day.
Ol' Putin wouldn't be trying to help out his buddy George, now, would he?
German word of the day: Dusche (f) - Shower
Life lately feels like the holidays are drawing near, and no, I haven't been to any malls lately, so I'm not talking about being subconsciously being influenced by the atrocious marketing practice of putting up Christmas decorations in July. Maybe it's the cool weather... I'm not sure.
German word of the day: Ideen (f) - Ideas
I've been playing way too much Simcity 4K lately. I finally went to bed tonight around 3-something in the morning, then had to wake up around 4 to put a large moth outside that was rattling around the ceiling of my studio. This isn't exactly the best management of my time, as class is at 8:30.
German word of the day: Türrahmen (m) - Doorframe
I woke up late today, so by the time "lunch" rolled around it was late-afternoon. Toshi's apparently isn't open between lunch and dinner, so after driving all the way across town and back we decided on Burrito Boy. Amazingly, both Eric and Michael were able to join Luke and myself, so we chatted. Unfortunately, lunch bled into the time I was supposed to be packing for my flight. Luke ended up doing a magnificent job of rocketing me back to pack, then jetted me out to the airport at about the same time that my flight was supposed to be boarding. Unfortunately, I checked my bag in such a rush that I forgot to put my Swiss army knife inside. As a result, I was harmlessly escorted out of the security line, and then had to enclose my knife in a padded envelope that I'd mail to myself. Luckily the airport gift shop diligently had such envelopes ready to go for just such instances of passenger forgetfulness. After all this, the boarding time ended up being delayed, so I actually sat around for about 15 minutes staring out the blindingly bright windows at the lush green grass between the runways.
The flight back was nice. I had a seat in the front row, and, on our descent into SFO, every time I looked out the windows on either side, I was greeted with an easily recognizeable landmark. Bodega bay, Tomales Bay, Point Reyes, The Farallons, Market St, etc. It was all quite picturesque in the darkening evening sky. Dad and I met for dinner, and I was passed out by midnight.
German word of the day: Mittagessen (n) - Lunch
I had dinner at Lok Yaun (fried rice) with Eric, Luke, and Josh, then hung out in the retreat (AKA Eric's bedroom) with folks watching Adult Swim and chatting into the wee hours of the morning.
German word of the day: Rinderbraten (m) - Roast beef
My flight was the epitome of negative airplane stereotypes, with the exception of a couple major clichés. The guy sitting next to me accidentally shoved his bag into my head while putting it into the overhead bin, then spent the entire flight reading radical right-wing magazine articles. It was also quite evident that he was unable to decide whether or not he wanted the window shade open or closed, nor was he able to restrain himself from shoving his leg into my floorspace. When the drinks were being passed out I was lucky enough to have orange juice dumped on my left arm (luckily I was wearing my gore-tex coat), and the ceiling of the coach section was so low that I had to hunch over to walk around inside the fuselage.
When Eric picked me up at the airport it was obvious it had rained recently. The clouds, however, had temporarily scattered a bit, so blue skies and shining sunlight permeated through, soaking the lush green landscape to a degree that made one want to smile. I spent most of the afternoon hanging out with Eric, standing outside in the glorious Oregon rain, installing software on my new laptop, then we met up with all the guys to go to our friend Ryan's birthday gathering, with cupcake chasers. This was immediately followed by the usual late-evening hang-out at Torry's, where I was spectator to a DDR session.
German word of the day: Kugellager (n) - Ball bearing
German word of the day: Feuerstelle (f) - Fireplace
I've been getting a lot of rather nasty headaches lately. I'm not sure why, as I don't feel like I'm sick or stressed right now. Perhaps my brain is trying to tell me this is not quite so... or maybe it's plotting against me. I wouldn't really be surprised either way. Today's headache was so bad that it left me feeling like I was going to throw up for several hours. I tried watching a movie, but I ended up sleeping through half of it. That was followed by finally taking some medication (which didn't produce any positive effect), another nap, and then finally I had to muster up enough strength to drive all the way over to Richmond to give my dad a ride back from a sale he'd made. Things ended up taking way too long and the wind over there was freezing, but my headache magically disappeared once I'd been outside for a while. We ended up getting home at 11:30 pm.
German word of the day: Kissenschlacht (f) - Pillow fight