| Sunday, 12-25-05. Cool and rainy | |||||||||||||
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It's day two of the three-day family-fest, and I'm getting a bit fatigued from being uber-social. My intention isn't to complain in any measureable sense, however, as this Christmas was probably one of the best in recent memories. Not only was there a perpetually adorable puppy present, but the food, company, and massive haul of gifts were all outstanding. I really am lucky to have such a situation to look forward to with my fam... not everyone is lucky enough to experience such generosity and stability. Adrian, our roommate in SF, joined us yesterday and today, and he seemed to enjoy himself. The feast this evening was comprised of turkey, ham, and all the associated side dishes. Before leaving, we finished the game of monopoly we started last night. I won, but it was a bit of a rollercoaster game. As I haven't slept well since the fun I had on Friday, I'm very much looking forward to trying out my new pillow tonight (as my old one should've been retired a decade ago). In the meantime, however, I have been enveloped by my Ipod.
German word of the day: Gastfreundlich - Hospitable |
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| Friday, 12-23-05. Overcast and drizzling | |||||||||||||
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I'm quite certain that not getting enough sleep produces near-identical effects on one's behavior as jetlag. I dropped off the blazer at the dealership when they opened this morning (before the sun had even come up), took the courtesy car home, passed out, and then was woken up a total of five times by both the dealership and my parents calling. I eventually managed to get in about two hours of sleep and woke up at one pm. Work on the car was finished in the afternoon, and I celebrated by barbecuing texas tri-tip with the best damned barbecue sauce on the planet.
German word of the day: Welpe (m) - Puppy |
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| Thursday, 12-22-05. Cloudy and rainy | |||||||||||||
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Our freezing spell last week gave way to a perpetual rainstorm that has lasted until today, and will also probably bleed into the weekend, like blood from trampled-on shoppers clamboring to buy the last regular-sized slippers at JC Penney for their collective grandmothers. I have one last gift to buy tomorrow evening, though most of my day will undoubtedly be swallowed up by my stint at the Chevy dealer to find out what the odd "clunk" noise is that rears its mysterious head when I turn left, followed by a serious cleaning of the top of my desk and chest of drawers. The piles of regular mail, junk mail, sketches, and magazines have grown to epic proportions, and they must be stopped. After that, I'm looking forward to seeing the folks' new puppy once they get back from the land far north. I'll probably post a photo of the undoubtedly adorable pup, so check back. I'm finally starting to emerge from being excessively sore and stiff, following the all-day dirt-digging fest in the folks' back yard on Tuesday.
German word of the day: Schneutzen sich - To blow one's nose |
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| Wednesday, 12-14-05. OVercast and cool | |||||||||||||
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Today the semester is officially over. After a 2-week-long struggle to get my two 24x36" presentation boards completed for my rendering class, I finally gave in at the last minute and settled on just doing one... but man, is it cool. I had so much fun and learned so much through this project that I'm going to continue doing the drawings I wanted to do for the second board and post it up over the break or early next semester. If you want to see the drawings I've completed thus far, take a look. My instructor wanted me to focus on making sketched tone drawings, since all my previous projects and drawings had been inked or done completely in line. I was really happy with the way most of these turned out. I'm just now starting to catch up on my sleep, though I've been fighting something lately and it's required me to feel like I need an extra four hours of sleep a night.
The curse of Christmas madness has fallen upon my family. Even though I was asking everyone for present ideas weeks ago, no one really got around to it until now. The stores downtown are quickly becoming something resembling an insane asylum crossed with a colony of fire ants that someone's pouring water into. I'm not looking forward to this, but everyone is being quite generous this year, so I suppose I should just grin and get it over with. Christmas: the time to be a good citizen and buy a lot of stuff. Who's Jesus? German word of the day: Einkaufen gehen - To go shopping |
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| Saturday, 12-03-05. Sunny and cool | |||||||||||||
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In the closing days of the second World War, the Nazis were on the run. Hitler, the once seemingly omnipotent leader of Germany, was confined to a massive bunker several stories underneath the Reich Chancellery in the center of Berlin. Before swallowing poison and shooting himself in the head, Hitler dictated a last will and testament to his secretary, Traudl Junge, outlining what he saw as his final vision for Germany. As he had done so before countless times, he blamed the "Jews" for the country's problems, and then went on to say how, if the German populus failed to bring him victory, they didn't deserve to exist as a people. In her memoirs, Natalie wrote how, after reading through the will, her heart sank, as she realized that all this time that, in his will, Hitler was simply regurgitating the same insane and hopeless vision that had never been based in any kind of reality.
One doesn't have to look too far in modern times to find a similar scene playing out. Bush's recent 35-page Iraq War strategy was found to be entirely composed of vague, repackaged propaganda, with nothing new and nothing to offer in any sort of definitive detail. Now, with Bush's approval ratings slowly and rightfully sliding into oblivion, it appears that the American people are doing a nice job of playing the part of Mrs. Junge. It's about time. German word of the day: Fehlen (n) - Failure |
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| Thursday, 12-01-05. Rainy and cool | |||||||||||||
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The weather's taken a decidedly dark turn lately, which is ok by me. I like variety in the weather, and after having sun for most of the year I feel a stretch of overcast skies and rain is in order.
This evening I was lucky enough to have been in attendance at a Strapping Young Lad/Fear Factory show at the Pound. My roommate Adrian, who is also a fan of the heavier side of rock, tipped me off about the show only yesterday and I immediately ordered tickets online. Devin Townsend is hilarious and an outstandingly excellent performer (despite his decline into baldness), and Fear Factory's set was pretty sweet. The Pound, however, was packed to the gills with bodies of all sizes, reeking smells, and optional shirts, so I was glad to get some fresh air when it was over. The shower I took this evening was possibly the most appreciated ever. I must be getting old, because I intentionally decided not to lose my voice from yelling lyrics this time, though I did come close. German word of the day: Schrein - To scream |
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