Now I Really Feel Like a Student Again...

...and it's not because I'm still in the middle of trying to finish all my school requirements at the last minute (procrastinating's a way of life for me in school AND at work). It's because last weekend was just crazy, like weekends always were back in college. I haven't had such a hectic weekend in a while. Friday night, Fil (aka Felicity), Biljana and I went to Fieldhouse (where I got drunk on the $10 bottomless Vodka Sprite) and the J-School party at Hubbell house. Saturday night, Fil, Biljana, Maria Ines, and I went to Heidelberg for some cocktails, then proceeded to a farewell party for all the graduating international students (where I didn't know anyone but managed to have fun anyway). Then on Sunday, there was a surprise birthday party for Yuriy, (for details, read Fil's blog.) where we had so much fun. Lots of food, alcohol, and music.



The coming weekend is shaping up to be a fun one too. Ale is graduating on Friday, along with Yuriy and Gyorgi, so there'll be another party at chez Maria Ines. On Saturday, Yuying is cooking another one of her amazing Chinese dinners in honor of the end of the second semester. I'm pretty excited, except for the fact that I still have papers to do and a long shift at the Missourian to finish this week. With all the fun in the air, I just can't get back to studying mode anymore.

Changes Back Home

I've been hearing so much news lately from my friends back in the Philippines. One gave birth a couple of weeks ago, one just found out she's pregnant, another just got engaged, two just got new boyfriends, one is moving to a great new house, one just got a new job in New York so is probably moving there soon...

Congratulations to all of them, I'm very glad my friends are so blessed. Of course all these developments made me a little sad that I was not there to congratulate them in person, and be there to share their happiness. It was also a reminder that life is going on back home, even as I pretend to myself that everything there is on hold, and that when I come back everything will be exactly as it was when I left.

The Library Police

A few days ago, I started reading a novella by Stephen King entitled "The Library Policeman". According to the story, the Library Police (with a capital LP, of course) will come and get you if you don't return your books on time. This concept is supposed to strike fear into children's hearts, resulting in library policy compliance (at least as far as returning books is concerned). King's story was one of horror, so the Library Policeman was depicted as a really scary towering figure who lisped, and had the capacity to turn the delinquent book-borrower's hair white by merely revealing himself to him.

The day after I started reading this story, Felicity and I went to the library in hopes of writing and finishing our papers. We found a little alcove that allowed us to talk without disturbing others. Lunch time came around, and we were at a loss as to what to do. That's because things at tables that are left unattended for more than twenty minutes are confiscated, and the table could be occupied by anyone else. We didn't want to lose our alcove, so we came up with a brilliant idea- Fil would go out and buy burritos at Taco Bell, then smuggle them into the library (food was not allowed), where she and I would surreptitiously eat them.

Fil came back with the burritos, and I was able to finish eating mine without further mishap. However, Fil, caught up in writing her kilometric paper, put her burrito down on the table in plain view. She then saw a boy pass by our alcove who shot her a glance as if she were doing something criminal. A few minutes later, a library staff member (library policewoman?) and told Fil to throw her burrito, since eating wasn't allowed in the library. She put it away, but of course, continued to eat it in secret.

Fil and I later bitched about the snitch who told on us. Sure, eating was not allowed. But REALLY. Anyway this whole incident got me to thinking about the Library Police. There may be no 7-foot policemen to scare you into returning your books, but there sure are plenty of library SNITCHES around who patrol the premises, ready to report to the library staff every infraction that they seem to take as a personal affront. Just remember, Library Snitches, what happened to the Library Police in King's novella. (Hint: King's monsters are usually obliterated at the end.)

Places I've Visited

I found out about this cool website that makes a map of places you've visited.
The first map is of countries I've gone to, the second is of states I've visited in the US. (Looks like I have a lot more travelling to do!)



create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands



create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

Gil and His Son

I am very busy procrastinating and putting off papers that need to be done, so I got to thinking about Gil and how I should have recorded some of our conversations. As you may have read, they have been enlightening (?) and rather humorous. He truly is one of a kind (Probably a good thing). So I've decided that I will try to write in this blog all the interesting conversations we have had. The following story is the first that comes to mind right now, and you will understand why.

One day, we were hanging out with some friends, and for some obscure reason, we got to talking about attitudes toward the human body.

Gil: You know, I am not very conscious of the human body. I do not put malice in it. In fact, my whole family's attitude towards the human body is very candid.

Me: What do you mean? (Half-afraid of the answer)

Gil: For example, my son goes around the house without his pants.

Me: You mean he goes around with only his underwear?

Gil: No, I mean he only wears a shirt, and nothing else. In fact, one time, there was a party in the house, and my son went out of his room not knowing there was company. He tried to hide his private parts by pulling his shirt down, but then when he ran to his room, his buttocks were exposed!

Me: (Imagining my 3-year-old nephew caught in such a situation) Oh, the poor kid! How old was he then? (Thinking this experience may have been a traumatic highlight of his formative years)

Gil: Sixteen.

Going Insane at the Semestral Homestretch

I have less than three weeks of classes left and I am going crazy thinking about how to finish all the papers and other projects I have to do. Felicity and I were bitching about how we hate our lives right now, but after ranting a bit more we both decided we'd still take the demands of school over the stress of work. I am currently panicking about how I will manage my remaining time to fit in all the school stuff I have to do, but despite this I guess I never really lose sight of the fact that I greatly prefer stressing about class requirements to dealing with difficult co-workers. I really wouldn't mind being a student forever and not have to work. Sigh.

Partying With The Kids (a.k.a. My Convergence Family)

Last week, my Convergence class got together for alcohol and two-for-one appetizers at Heidelberg. I thought it unlikely, but I actually enjoyed hanging out with these kids (average age of people in this picture minus me=21.2). It's our second semester, and we've had several get-togethers since Fall (always with alcohol involved). This group was formed in August, when we found ourselves in the same major. When I first enrolled at the Journalism School, I was persuaded by my adviser to enroll in the Convergence sequence instead of Broadcasting, as I had first planned.

It turns out that Convergence was the first new major of the J-School in 50 years. (I saw later that this meant they were still trying to work out the kinks in the sequence) Learning how to report across different media platforms (radio, TV, print, online) sounded interesting, so I signed up. I was the only foreigner in my class, and only one of two grad students, so last semester was rather challenging. We had a lot of group reporting and at times it was very stressful, as I have previously written.

This semester, we have less group work (really NOT my strongest point), so it's been less difficult for me, and seeing my classmates has been more pleasant. I've learned more about them, and a couple of them have become real friends. One nice thing about my convergence class is that there's some semblance of community (I have found that this does not occur here as naturally as it does back home). Being the J-School's guinea pigs for a new major formed a strange sort of bond. It was probably all that collective bitching about not understanding anything in our classes that brought us together.