(warning: particularly old content) I don't ask for it to make sense RSS feed

1999.07.31

Yay, I'm sick in a foreign country. That's oso much fun. I wonder if I can survive on baked apples; it's about the only thing I've actually really liked that I've eaten here. I'm feeling just a little crabby.... bleh. Dad and Victor go out to get drunk every night; I'm not sure exactly how I feel about it, but they don't make me go along so it's all good. Okay, I actually had a good day today, I must admit. I was crabby in the morning, and I wish Dad or Victor had told me that I was going to be crawling around castles all day so I wouldn't have worn my birks, but oh my lord what castles. Victor's brother Arthur came with us, and he was really fun to hang out with, and the castles really made me wish that I knew how to paint. The best was surfacing out of a tower to look over a green jungle of trees with a few crumbling spikes outlined against the sunset. That was just kick ass. And Brian would approve of Victor's driving, after he survived his heart attack... and I've never been so embarrassed at a restaurant, but I have to admit that I was laughing my ass off when Dad was threatening to light the menu on fire, and they really did deserve it. Long story. Good day. Now the three of them are out sampling the night life, and I managed to avoid going with them (victory for me). And I think I could live on baked apples and kielbasa. And I wonder why the hell Polish women seem to think that dying their hair some bastard combination of red, purple, and pink is somewhat attractive. I mean, older women are doing it, so it's not even a "doing it to be cool" thing. I wonder if they think it's natural looking. o_O

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1999.07.30

Well, if I were still awake at what time it is in Seattle, I'd be dating this as the 29th, but it's full into the 30th here in Krakow. I have a nice room to myself, but the bed sucks (oh well). Any room that gives me free chocolate has to be good. The only thing I want to know is what exactly the "Recreation Lift" is. I mean... Is it for "recreating" in....? Ugh. Damn, it's getting cloudy again. The weather here is almost worse than Seattle... definitely more cool. I've come to the decision that I'm just not meant to be a world traveler. I've learned that I absolutely despise sightseeing, though perhaps that's because I always have to go where my parents want to go, and I don't get to have much choice in it. It's not that I don't enjoy seeing the places we go, it's just that... bleh, I can't explain it. I miss home. How ungrateful am I?

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1999.07.28

At least I think that's the correct date. Traveling overseas does hell to your time sense, and even if I did know the date, I'd probably type it wrong due to the horrendous lag. Yay, AOL in Poland. The trip here was a nightmare and Victor seems as stuck on me as ever. I think it'sgoing to be a tense trip, I'm afraid.

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1999.07.26

Strange things go through your mind when you only get three hours of sleep; things like "the alarm can stop going off, I'll wake up by myself," and so far as you can tell at the time, you're serious. Though I must say that if you're forced to get up early, it really helps if the sun is coming up when you're doing so; that just makes everything a little happier. I don't think my brain has yet caught up with the idea that it didn't get enough sleep, nor have I yet gotten annoyed at the fact that when I got out of the shower, Mom told me that my flight was delayed an hour and I could have slept more. Such are the wonders of the sleep deprived brain; it just keeps going and going... speaking of which, I need to buy batteries so I don't go insane on the plane.

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1999.07.25

I had a lot of good food today, and a lot of good company. Thanks Thacker and Tony for not only getting food with me, but going shopping with me, and you guys and Darrick amused me during the evening hours as well. I would have gone nuts today without it, as well as being shoe-less. I probably would have avoided doing that shopping without company, just because I hate it so very much. But now, I have new shoes. Oh, and I just about got broad-sided on I405 South on the way to the airport today, and that really really really sucked. I have to get up in about 4 hours to go catch a plane so that I can catch another plane so that I can catch a third plane to Krakow (which I don't think is how you spell that, but oh well).

Sorry Dad, there's no way in hell I'm marrying Victor.

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1999.07.24

Eighty bucks for laundry????? Ohhhh Dad, you owe me big time. I did nothing but HTML all day, pretty much, and man do I have a headache. Most people know already, but I'm leaving for three weeks on Monday. Who knows if I'll be able to update from there, and I haven't even started getting things together to pack yet. ARGH.

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1999.07.23

Allergies to cat acting up. Drifting, in a dusky sunset, driving where? Neither home is home tonight, and not sure if they are any night. Time for the Allegra.

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1999.07.22

Hah, bet someone thought I'd miss today. Well, I suppose I've literally missed today, but oh heck who cares. I got my final back in my lit class and I did well, though my teacher thought I needed to have a more "serious tone." Let's just say that my tone was set by my title, "Why Genji Sent Himself to the Boonies." He gave me points for creativity, though.

I went swimming tonight with my dad for a little while at the hotel he's staying at tonight (with a 5:30 am flight, he decided to just stay at the Sea-Tac Marriot instead of get up at some ungodly time to commute from home). The last time I swam was in the surf in Hawaii at Thanksgiving, and then I went in my clothes. I hadn't worn a swimsuit since the last time before that I'd swam... the summer before my freshman year of college, when I had to do a swim test for camp. Before then, I'd swum the year before for the test at camp, and not before that for a good year or two. It's not that I don't like swimming, because I actually enjoy it a great deal. It's just that... well, A) my hair takes forever to dry and chlorine is a hassle and B) I'm too self conscious to like wearing a swim suit at ALL. *shudder*

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1999.07.21

Ummmmm. Whoops. I guess since I wrote so much on Monday, it counts double. Or something. I had a final today, and Brian's cooking dinner tonight! One is good, one is bad. You be the judge.

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1999.07.19

"Oh gosh, my class starts at 9:30! But it's right across the street, so it's okay" -Jen's roommate Catherine, @9:25 in the morning, upon having just gotten out of bed. Oh, and I saw someone doing something to their eyelashes in the bathroom. Whatever it was, it was freaky. Yes, I have an ego. Yes, I'm spoiled. Yes, I'm proud. Yes, I'm a bitch. I'm left to wonder why anyone likes me. And the only answer I can find lies within the fact I have very few female friends. Go me. And I think they sneaked lemon flavoring into the strawberry smoothies again. Ugh.

For some reason there's a lot of stuff in my head I feel like writing down, so here goes. I went home to get my sneakers today, but due to some unknown bad thing I seem to have done to my knees (the left one in particular... the pop it made a couple hours ago was very distressing), I couldn't really go jogging. I settled for a walk, though I'm rather regretting it now as my knees continue to ache dreadfully. Oh well... there were a couple things of note as I walked: 1) I saw a guy who looked exactly like Mr. Bean. I swear to God. He looked as if he might be Morrocan, but if not for the skin color, I would have sworn I was in the presence of the Black Adder. 2) I had my first blackberries of the year. I probably shouldn't have had them; it's far too early for blackberries still. The two I had were about the only black ones I saw, and were quite tart. They were still good. 3) I saw a guy riding a bike with a red braid hanging down past his butt. It was about the longest hair I've ever seen, and I wondered how he kept it from falling to the side and getting tangled in the spokes. 4) I saw someone painting graffiti for the first time. He looked up guiltily as I walked past, and I couldn't help but smile at him. He'd picked such a disgusting yellow to cover the building with, I just couldn't help it.

I was reminded today why I used to enjoy going jogging. It was a really pretty evening, and nice out. More over, I can now safely eat dinner without feeling guilty about it. Yippee. Now, the question is, where the hell to find something to eat. Downstairs is closed, I have 2$ to my name... oh yeah.... LEFTOVER BOLOGNA SLOP!

Don't ask.

Okay, Red Robin was a lot better. And wow; I've apparently been going around all day with some really dreadful grass stains on the butt of my shorts. Actually, I'm wondering if it's color transfer from my reader for my Japanese class; I sat down on the grass originally, but opted for sitting on my reader on the pavement instead b/c the grass was wet. Oops.

Think

1999.07.18

I've been too busy tonight to even think of writing anything. Important note to self: accidentally deleting everything in a public_html dir is a bad thing. And why the hell did my roommate feel like rearranging her half of the room? I wonder if Julie was this disoriented when I moved my stuff around a couple months ago...

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1999.07.17

Hahahahaha.... "It's Summer Jam on a stick!!" has to be the funniest thing I've heard a radio DJ say in a long time.

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1999.07.16

I feel miserable. They say you should never go to sleep angry. I think the same goes for parting. I wasn't even angry... but things didn't get smoothed over and now I feel awful.

You know, Pearl Jam has some really depressing lyrics. "Where oh where can my baby be, the Lord took her away from me... She's gone to Heaven so I have to be good, so I can see my baby when I leave this world." And that's not the particularly depressing part, it's just that I can't remember the exact lyrics to the part about the car crash right now. Bleh.

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1999.07.15

I just watched Tora, Tora, Tora. Goddamn. We got our asses wiped at Pearl Harbor. You have to wonder how the people who were responsible for the warnings of Japanese incomings not getting to the proper channels feel. "It's probably not important," indeed. Things that I think would be funny to have on my site: current weather conditions in Seattle, so that I wouldn't have to go to the UW site for it. Hrm....

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1999.07.14

"People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant." -Helen Keller. And Kenta is one awesome cook.

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1999.07.13

OMG DIXIE'S HAS GOOD RIBS.

I feel crappy, oh so crappy, I really hate being sickkkkk.... Heat exhaustion bites the big one, though I must say it's fun to have people fuss over you. I just wish I were less sick so I could enjoy it more.

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1999.07.12

I am ninja.

My teacher was talking about "unpacking" the meaning to a poem today. I hate that word. It's so pretentious sounding, and all English teachers I've ever had have always used it. "We need to unpack what's in this story..." UGH. There's a particularly ugly shade of green that's seemingly very popular right now (at least, it was plastered all over Northgate Mall). It's similar to the color of a streetlight, but more yellowy. Actually, it's the color of green apples. It's really gross.

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1999.07.11

I actually ate some salmon tonight. It was the first time in about a year I've had any fish at all, and certainly the first time in at least three years that I've had any other sort of fish than whatever that stuff in fish 'n chips is. It wasn't too bad, but I still think I'll keep to red meat. I got our hammock set up today at home. Let me tell you that hammocks are definitely one of the coolest things ever invented. You can do everything in them, from reading for school to homework to talking on the phone, and so long as your brother doesn't duct tape you inside, or something, it's all good!

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1999.07.10

I love being surprised!

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1999.07.09

Surprising, that crossing the street at dusk, air muggy, and I alone, should recall other days: bright, hot, blue sky blazing, and a slender figure skating past with a smile and a nod for just me, in the midst of a noon crowd. There's something about the campus in summer, half deserted and with heat rising off the brick, that makes me feel more like I'm attending college than at any other time. I don't usually think of myself as an adult, but when I do, I mark the time I became so at a certain night two years ago, when I first walked on campus, in summer, alone, at night.

BTW, I know where to find the Gekiganger mp3. If you guys are really nice to me, I'll tell you where.

Think

1999.07.08

Walking home today beneath Allen, setting sun in my eyes, Birkenstock'd and barefooted, hair pulled loosely and wearing jeans, backpack rustling quietly, I felt more like a college student than I have in a long time.

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1999.07.07

I helped Jason and Seth move today. I hurt. I'm too young to be this tired. A quote from Essays in Idleness, by Yoshida Kaneyoshi (1283-1352), section 145: "One mustn't put the new antlers of a deer up to one's nose and smell them. There are little bugs inside them that crawl in through your nose and eat your brain." I about died when I was on the bus today and read this. People looked at me funny. They would have laughed too, if they realized what medieval Japanese literature was really like sometimes.

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1999.07.06

Ouchie ouchie ouchie.... I got a sunnnnnnnnnnnburn yesterday! And omg I'm actually eating a DOUGHNUT. I've got something on my Music page. I even have some mp3s to download, ones on Brian's cds, so I suppose I can say that I own them, right? *sigh* Legal shit sucks. Anyway, I'm going to ask C&C if it's okay with them if I do it, because I sure don't want to lose my account for violating "University Policy." Kaze ga ima... samui da. I'm apparently just barely an otaku, according to my Otaku Purity Rating of just 51. 51's not bad for only about 5 years of work, though! Christ, it's 4:30 am. No class tomorrow for Jen.

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1999.07.05

Seeing as how it's technically the 6th now, I suppose I should get around to doing this and then go to bed. I've certainly been sleepy enough to hit the hay, as it were, for hours now. I had an interesting discussion with Chris (a guy on my floor) tonight about the concept of zero. I'd never really thought about what a bitch it must have been to try to do stuff like multiply with Roman numerals! I'd also never really thought about the fact that Roman numerals are so screwy exactly because they don't have a zero to act as a place holder. All hail the Arabs!

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1999.07.04

Modems suck, fireworks were really pretty and wonderful in Longview.

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1999.07.03

I find it vaguely amusing that people don't realize how shy I really am. Because then they get so surprised at my actions sometimes.

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1999.07.02

Bleh. "Hey, man, I like nachos."

There was an earthquake tonight.

It was only a small one, really, and I probably wouldn't have noticed it at all had someone not suddenly said "is that an earthquake?" I looked down at the desk I was sitting on in Gowen, and realized it was swaying slightly. I looked up at the lamp above me, and it was swaying, too. It was very disturbing to me. Apparently there was another earthquake last night, a 3.0 that we didn't feel. And another earlier today, a 5.7 centering around Vancouver that was too far offshore to be felt. And now this 5.5. I admit to fear. Until these last days, so far as I knew, Seattle had only experienced three earthquakes in my life. One, I was too young to remember. One, I was in San Diego when it happened. The last one, Bryce and I were the only ones home when suddenly my hall tilted sideways. I don't remember being scared, other than worrying about where Bryce and Niko were. This one, though, scared me. Three in the last 24 hours. I suppose I'm just not used to it, but I've been feeling vaguely naseous and disturbed ever since. I've grown up with the adage "Seattle's due for a big one," and never before have I given it more than a moment's thought.

I'm thinking about it now, though.

My original plan for today's ramble was to discuss how depressed I became today when we finished discussing Genji Monogatari in my lit class today. I suppose I'll save it for another time, since I currently don't really have the urge to think about anything other than the fact that I have no idea what I'd do or what I'm "supposed" to do in the case of an earthquake.

It's a sobering thought.

Think

1999.07.01

I was going to say something important, but I've forgotten it and instead inform anyone who cares that I actually got all my reading done today before 2 PM rather than AM. I'm so not all that and a bag of chips. And I saw a very interesting slogan on a bus driving by today, and only wish I could have glimpsed wtf it was for. "I'll have the steak, and another diaper for my monkey." I have an insane desire to use this pretty dove-grey marbly background tile I have. But I don't know where. Hmmmmmm..... AND WOW!!! I just finally got taught how to do custom Error 404 files. Yay! Oh my god, it's sunny even just over in Redmond. I can see it. DAMNIT.

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