Posted by: patriciamar | July 8, 2009

Towards a new life!!

I am finally sitting here- free… after months of thesis work, a drug reaction, and a trip to the USA. My thesis is turned in (as of this past Monday) and in the last two months, I have been to California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Vienna, Paris, and now – por fin… back to Leiden. This is not to say that the last month of traveling wasn’t completely wonderful, just that eventually, it is nice to be back home.

Now that I have completed my thesis and hopefully my master’s (hurray!), (it only has to be approved, so I’m just waiting), I can now do yoga everyday, read, write, submit things to hopefully support myself (hmmm…), go to the beach, ahhh.. I can’t wait. Wait… I think it has already started!!!
I think I’ll go look up a recipe for raspberry-lingonberry pie.

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Posted by: patriciamar | May 22, 2009

When TGIF Was Good

Ahh, don’t we all remember the days when TGIF was still good….
Step by Step, Family Matters, and then eventually the peak – with Boy Meets World. Whatever happened to this carefree time in our life? When Friday nights were just the night you could watch TGIF on the living room floor, too close to the tv, of course.

I am, of course, back in the library. It is my new favorite working place with its well-lit areas and nice computers. Funny how it took me until the last month of writing my Master’s thesis to realize that the library was a nice place to work. And this even includes my high school and undergraduate days.

Yes, Melissa and I did enjoy the 2-4 a.m. study fun during 24 hour week at the U of M, but beyond that, the library was just where you picked up the books that you would set on the cluttered desk in your crowded apartment before you went into the living to watch a season of Friends.

Hmmm.. Do I watch a lot of tv?

I actually don’t even own a tv. But the internet! ooohh the Internet, all the wonderful possibilities.

The other day, Matt and I had a convesation about encyclopedias. Encyclopedias, we decided, are a good way for children to learn about a lot of different things without even trying. Let’s say you want to look up, African elephants. First, you find the A, this doesn’t take too long- unless you are me, then you probably got distracted by thinking about what your favorite letter is, and then looking up the entry in the P encyclopedia that is closest to my name. Look at that! Already learning!

Okay, so you head back to the A. African elephants. Wait, Africa, wow. That seems so far away. And a map, wow! I wonder what these countries are like. I wonder what languages they speak. Wow, look at the tribal art, and the tribal dress. All this learning and you still haven’t even gotten to the African elephants section. There, you could learn that there are many more types of elephants and soon you will be looking up the largest elephant, or the weird pond of muddy water where the African elephant in the picture is sitting. What a life, looking at the encyclopedia.

So, moral of the story: Buy some encyclopedias for your kids, even if they’re old (the encyclopedias, not the kids). It’s just so much more educational than Google.

Besides, TGIF just isn’t as good as it used to be.

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Posted by: patriciamar | May 18, 2009

Nothing takes you back like the sound of canned air spraying on a keyboard…

…and you tell Rita Moreno that I’m looking for her… (I love Friends)

…It’s not Santa’s plan… (There’s nothing wrong with the fact that this makes me laugh out loud on a weekly basis.  I love Friends.)

Dancing with Sandy on the football field… And dip!

There’s nothing that takes you back like the sound of canned air cleaning out a keyboard… ahhh, Melissa’s grad school days.

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Posted by: patriciamar | May 15, 2009

The Thesis Thunderstorm

I am happy today, because I think my life (and mind) is back… After an extended mental breakdown over my thesis and life in general, with basically nothing accomplished on my thesis (hereby referred to as my “long paper”) for almost a week. (This may not seem long to you, but I have found that getting out of rhythm is just not good news.)

Hopefully the flurry of motivation will continue…

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Posted by: patriciamar | May 15, 2009

The Leiden Library

As I sit in the Leiden Library, I am slightly annoyed at how my screen is sitting at an angle and I cannot seem to fix it. I am happy that I have a nice comfy chair though, so I cannot complain too much about the screen. I am hoping to finish my morphology paper here soon… But instead I find myself writing blogs, writing emails and searching for apartments. No specific location, no specific date, just looking. It’s fun.

Next I will check out the San Francisco scene for our upcoming trip. Perhaps I will try to get a massage there. I believe that I am in dire need of one.

I did some nice yoga videos on YouTube this morning, courtesy of my favorite online yoga lady, Esther, who is Dutch but lives somewhere in Ireland. I will try to include a link or two later… but she is really quite easy to find. I recommend her. Next I will meet Matt in Lipsius for some cheap soup before we meet a friend to study Indonesian. I wonder what kind of soup they will have today. It takes time to get used to these Dutch soups. Split Pea Soup (although it is good) comes around more often than I ever could have imagined.

Tonight will be drinks at Proost, the cheapest bar in Leiden as far as I can tell. There we hope to reunite with a few Mphil friends that have been a long time absent in our social lives. We’ll see.

The Leiden Library is a nice place to work and also to people-watch. Though I do sometimes find myself thinking that it is hard to people watch with all these computer screens in the way. Hmmm.. Maybe I should go up to the Reading Room… But really, that would be altogether a too obvious sort of people watching. Maybe I will go out to the canal benches later if it stops raining.

Yes, this would make for a lovely afternoon.  If all were to go swimmingly, I would even be done with my morphology paper by then.  We’ll see.

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Posted by: patriciamar | May 13, 2009

A Summary of What it’s like to Live in Minneapolis without a Car

This is a comment from a NY Times article about a new carfree suburb in Germany. It pretty much sums up what it was like to live in Mpls without a car.

The article:

The Comment:
I’ve lived in Atlanta for 10 plus years. Supposedly it’s “impossible” to live in this car-centric, transit-poor city, but I haven’t found that to be the case. I’ve been able to get to and from work, get furnishings for my home, go grocery shopping, go to parties, and do everything I need to get done, without ever having a car. Still, the phenomenon is still considered such a novelty I’ve been profiled more than once by local newspapers!
I’m glad to talk to them, because people need to know it’s possible. Most of what makes it possible is one’s choices. There are many who take the buses and trains here because they can’t afford to drive, but there are many who can afford to drive who don’t need to but do so every day. These are people who live in “hip” urban areas next to train stations but drive SUVs to their jobs two miles away. These are people who ask me how I get my groceries, like it’s difficult to carry a couple of bags or wheel a grocery cart.
All in all, I find people very strange.
— Wendy

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Posted by: patriciamar | May 13, 2009

Our Dream Life

Thank you to Vanessa for the poem that sums up my life’s dreams… and frustrations.

Where We Are by Gerald Locklin

i envy those

who live in two places:

new york, say, and london;

wales and spain;

l.a. and paris;

hawaii and switzerland.

there is always the anticipation

of the change, the chance that what is wrong

is the result of where you are. i have

always loved both the freshness of

arriving and the relief of leaving. with

two homes every move would be a homecoming

i am not even considering the weather, hot

or cold, dry or wet. i am talking about hope.

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Posted by: patriciamar | May 11, 2009

C1000

Today at the C1000, our local Leiden grocery store, I witnessed a slightly bizarre event.  As I waited in line to check out, a girl came rollerblading into the automatic gate of the grocery store with two bananas in her hand.  Naturally, she rollerbladed over to the fruit section.  At this point, I was quite confused as to whether she was returning the bananas (perhaps not paid for?) or looking to purchase more bananas.  It is also important to note that Dutch women are quite tall.  On Rollerblades, this young woman was probably standing at about 6 feet 3 inches.

She then continued through the fruit section (again – this was all on rollarblades) and weighed her fruit, printed a sticker, and then rollarbladed over to the check out line.  At this point, I was thinking, okay, so she is buying bananas- this is normal – but why did she bring her own bananas into the store to buy???

But wait- she then continued rollerblading past the other customers in the check-out line up to the register.

Ahhh… I see.  It all comes together.  She was in line already, just forgot to print a sticker for her bananas, so it was easier to go out and back in, then back through the busy check-out line.  Makes perfect sense.

Almost.

Except for the Rollerblade part.

Just another normal Dutch day.

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Posted by: patriciamar | May 6, 2009

Positive Energy

I realized that an overwhelming number of my recent posts are quite negative.  Not just negative really, but quite angry.  Perhaps this pessimism is actually my thesis writer’s block.  So, I am on a quest to change that a bit.  I have had a poor attitude.  That must be the first step.  Admitting it?  Too negative, too paranoid.  But, don’t dwell on it.  Ok.

1.  Put your mind in a position that stimulates positive thoughts.

2. Do things one step at a time.

3.  Break tasks and activities into manageable pieces.

4.  Think of activities only when you are about to do them.  Otherwise, don’t worry about them.

5.  Dispose of guilt and just forgive and forget.

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Posted by: patriciamar | May 5, 2009

Coffee & Alcohol

Since my evil drug debacle (I even looked this up to make sure it works: complete collapse or failure; sudden downfall), I have had ultimately no coffee or alcohol. I did smell Matt’s cup of coffee once, and in Amsterdam, I had two sips I think, but otherwise – none. Down from about 3-6 cups a day. In the world of alcohol, it’s not like I was a rockstar or anything, but I did enjoy sunset happyhour on my balcony. Now- nothing. zilch. I think I may have had a sip of Matt’s Rochefort 10 the other day… but other than that, wine currently looks more like a cleaning solution than a beverage.

Hopefully I can stomach a bit more before our trip to Mpls – which is stocked with trips to Common Roots and the traditional Leaning Hour at the Happy Tower.

Either way, feeling healthier at the least…

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