2012 New Year Resolution:
- Graduate
Other goals:
- Take dance classes (contemporary)
- Meet some great people
- Make it back to Denmark
- Get at least 2 A's each semester
- Come up with entirely new water aerobic routines
- Get into killer shape and stay that way (up the cardio)
I live for myself, but I'm not selfish.
What I do with my life is entirely my own decision.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Christmas vacation
Sorry for the lull in posting. I swear I have great excuses. I'll just bring the blog up to speed on the past few weeks.
Finals Week:
Nightmarish. Seriously the worst finals week I've ever had, in the sense that it was so stressful and demanding. In addition, I was still trying to get 30+ hours of work in (unsuccessful), because I was going to be spending the next week and a half NOT working, and probably spending 100s of dollars.
My Chinese exam tortured me all of Dead Week, and I even managed to prolong the agony by taking it with a later section, giving myself more time to study. In the end, I think I pulled off a C, but it wasn't pretty. I always give up during the last sections of the Chinese exams, because it is a free-write, where you create your own dialogue using specific grammar structures and vocabulary words. Not horrible, right? The frustrating part is that the vocabulary words you're required to use don't tie together at all. For example, "apartment," "internship," "neighborhood," "sports game," "plane ticket," "dangerous," and at least 6-7 others. How am I supposed to create a brief dialogue involving all of these things, especially with only 3 (oh wait, technically 2 because I skipped a class) semesters of Chinese under my belt?
I know I barely slept that entire week. No, that's not true - I actually slept through one of my water aerobics classes, which Karen was fortunately able to substitute in on at the last minute. I drove up anyway and apologized to everyone, explaining how late I'd been up finishing a research paper, and I brought Karen an enormous coffee. My place of work is awesome, so everyone was more concerned for me, than they were about the fact that I overslept for my shift. That's what 2.5 years of relationship-building within a community gets you.
Weekend in Seattle:
After some hubbub and musical chairs, so to speak, with our ride situation, Laura and Marie (the Danes) eventually made it to Seattle Friday evening. It ended up being perfect, because Lukas (with whom I was staying) lives right in Belltown, and the girls' hostel was literally 1 block away from his apartment. I had envisioned us having to take a bus to get together every day or something, so this was a very pleasant surprise. Enjoying the downtown location, we walked all over the city. Experiencing Seattle this way gave me a much better impression of it than I've ever had before. In the past, I've always felt terribly rushed or stressed while attempting to navigate the downtown. This time, it was simple and lovely. I got all of my Christmas shopping done, and then some.
Only one bit of disappointment was when we went out on Capitol Hill (which is more or less the gay part of town.. not to suggest that the rest of Seattle isn't gay). I had been looking forward to this for a while, but when we got there, the bars were packed with straight people. I don't like to discriminate, but hello! If I wanted to go to an expensive bar and dance with straight people, I could've stayed in Pullman. I hardly ever get the opportunity to get out amongst the gays (especially away from the close-knit Moscow-Pullman nest) and here all of these straight people are taking over the gay bars. Feeling 3 sheets to the wind, I confronted some girls about it.
Ky: "Are you guys straight? What is with all of the heteros here? There are no gay people!"
Girl 1: "You're just in the wrong area."
Ky: "Wait, I'm in the wrong area?! We're in a gay bar."
Girl 2: "Look, there's a gay guy over there!"
Ky: "...That guy is definitely on ecstacy."
Oh well, I needed to stop being so whiny. I had an incredible weekend with friends there. The Danes all flew out before me, and it was so hard to let them go. We became so close, and it is difficult to find real best friends, so I'm going to miss them a lot spring semester. Plus, it was super convenient to be able to discuss things in Danish without other people knowing. It's like a private language.
Palm Springs/La Quinta:
Landed in Palm Springs to my bonita mamasita waiting for me. I had not seen her since July. I think I may have developed allergies to the desert, because I've been having cold-like symptoms, but they literally began the moment I stepped off the plane, and they worsen when I'm outdoors. After how much of my life I've spent living in the desert, I'm not sure how this could be possible, but it is the only explanation I can muster.
Anyway, it's been a nice time down here so far. Pictures to come, hopefully, but I won't promise anything, since I still haven't updated with the farmhouse ones I took. My parents' house is gorgeous! I had high expectations from the pictures I'd seen, and they were vastly exceeded. Been to a number of cocktail parties since arrival, explored the mountains behind the house with Mom & Grace, and looking forward to hot tubbing under the stars tonight.
Finals Week:
Nightmarish. Seriously the worst finals week I've ever had, in the sense that it was so stressful and demanding. In addition, I was still trying to get 30+ hours of work in (unsuccessful), because I was going to be spending the next week and a half NOT working, and probably spending 100s of dollars.
My Chinese exam tortured me all of Dead Week, and I even managed to prolong the agony by taking it with a later section, giving myself more time to study. In the end, I think I pulled off a C, but it wasn't pretty. I always give up during the last sections of the Chinese exams, because it is a free-write, where you create your own dialogue using specific grammar structures and vocabulary words. Not horrible, right? The frustrating part is that the vocabulary words you're required to use don't tie together at all. For example, "apartment," "internship," "neighborhood," "sports game," "plane ticket," "dangerous," and at least 6-7 others. How am I supposed to create a brief dialogue involving all of these things, especially with only 3 (oh wait, technically 2 because I skipped a class) semesters of Chinese under my belt?
I know I barely slept that entire week. No, that's not true - I actually slept through one of my water aerobics classes, which Karen was fortunately able to substitute in on at the last minute. I drove up anyway and apologized to everyone, explaining how late I'd been up finishing a research paper, and I brought Karen an enormous coffee. My place of work is awesome, so everyone was more concerned for me, than they were about the fact that I overslept for my shift. That's what 2.5 years of relationship-building within a community gets you.
Weekend in Seattle:
After some hubbub and musical chairs, so to speak, with our ride situation, Laura and Marie (the Danes) eventually made it to Seattle Friday evening. It ended up being perfect, because Lukas (with whom I was staying) lives right in Belltown, and the girls' hostel was literally 1 block away from his apartment. I had envisioned us having to take a bus to get together every day or something, so this was a very pleasant surprise. Enjoying the downtown location, we walked all over the city. Experiencing Seattle this way gave me a much better impression of it than I've ever had before. In the past, I've always felt terribly rushed or stressed while attempting to navigate the downtown. This time, it was simple and lovely. I got all of my Christmas shopping done, and then some.
Only one bit of disappointment was when we went out on Capitol Hill (which is more or less the gay part of town.. not to suggest that the rest of Seattle isn't gay). I had been looking forward to this for a while, but when we got there, the bars were packed with straight people. I don't like to discriminate, but hello! If I wanted to go to an expensive bar and dance with straight people, I could've stayed in Pullman. I hardly ever get the opportunity to get out amongst the gays (especially away from the close-knit Moscow-Pullman nest) and here all of these straight people are taking over the gay bars. Feeling 3 sheets to the wind, I confronted some girls about it.
Ky: "Are you guys straight? What is with all of the heteros here? There are no gay people!"
Girl 1: "You're just in the wrong area."
Ky: "Wait, I'm in the wrong area?! We're in a gay bar."
Girl 2: "Look, there's a gay guy over there!"
Ky: "...That guy is definitely on ecstacy."
Oh well, I needed to stop being so whiny. I had an incredible weekend with friends there. The Danes all flew out before me, and it was so hard to let them go. We became so close, and it is difficult to find real best friends, so I'm going to miss them a lot spring semester. Plus, it was super convenient to be able to discuss things in Danish without other people knowing. It's like a private language.
Palm Springs/La Quinta:
Landed in Palm Springs to my bonita mamasita waiting for me. I had not seen her since July. I think I may have developed allergies to the desert, because I've been having cold-like symptoms, but they literally began the moment I stepped off the plane, and they worsen when I'm outdoors. After how much of my life I've spent living in the desert, I'm not sure how this could be possible, but it is the only explanation I can muster.
Anyway, it's been a nice time down here so far. Pictures to come, hopefully, but I won't promise anything, since I still haven't updated with the farmhouse ones I took. My parents' house is gorgeous! I had high expectations from the pictures I'd seen, and they were vastly exceeded. Been to a number of cocktail parties since arrival, explored the mountains behind the house with Mom & Grace, and looking forward to hot tubbing under the stars tonight.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
The Earth without Art is just Eh
Kunst. L'art.
Looking around us, and recognizing the extensive intricacies of our environment, as well as the infinite forms of beauty we, as living creatures, are able to create. Dance, music, painting, drawing, photography, quilting, writing, architecture, and so on. Even in nature (or should I say, especially in nature), this occurs. I have been taking advantage of this idea more and more recently, and thinking of ways I can contribute to the world of art, myself.
About a month ago, I was asked to model for a fine arts student's final project. I was paired with two girls, and we were to appear naked in the photos. The girls were topless, covering their breasts, and in several of the shots, I was covering their breasts, but we all kept our underwear on. We simply hid the underwear by cutting it out of the shot or concealing it with props. The theme was supposed to be about temptation and lusting after something you cannot have.
Here is the final product:
Honestly, I am pretty disappointed with how it turned out, even though that is rude to say about the student's work. She didn't use the most substantial shots we took, as I described, where I was on the ground with one of the girls with our eyes locked, or covering their breasts and making a real emotional connection. Secondly, why did she change it all to black & white? It makes it seem drab and sullen, not about temptation or lust at all. Third, what is with this arrangement of the photos? It doesn't have any apparent logic to it. I feel like this project could've really gone places with the original theme and models, but sadly failed to deliver.
My mom was selected to present as Artist of the Year at a quilting exhibition (to my understanding) in Seattle. I am so proud of her; she has such marvelous talents and an eye for details. I think this may lead to bigger things for her, as she gets more involved in showing her work to the masses.
Friday, December 9, 2011
End of this semester
At last this semester is coming to an end. I have three finals next week: Chinese, Geology, and Foreign Film. I don't think it'll be too brutal, but it's not like the only thing I have to do right now is lie around and study. I'm working nearly full-time, keeping my body in shape, and juggling this absurd course load. Why was the concept of "study leave" lost upon the USA? Most western countries get at least a couple of weeks of no class, just studying. In Denmark, it's called læseferie, or "reading break." I know they practice it in Mother England as well, so why the Mayflower left it behind, I cannot understand. Anyway, I could certainly use a study leave right now.
I'm so looking forward to next week, where I'll be heading to Seattle for 4-5 days, and then flying down to Palm Springs to visit my lovely parents and grandmother. I'll be staying in Seattle with my good friend, Luke, and will really be able to take advantage of the city life during my time there. It will be good to see old friends, and some partying on Capitol Hill is certainly in order.
This will be my first time visiting my parents' new house in La Quinta, Calif. From the pictures, I can see they've made it up so beautifully, as they always do. I'm sad I scarcely get to see the pair of them, particularly with my mother being my very best friend. I actually haven't seen my grandmother in... Shoot, I can't remember the last time I saw her. It's been far too long, though. She's the only one I have!
Happy Holidays, everyone. May yours be warm and full of love.
I'm so looking forward to next week, where I'll be heading to Seattle for 4-5 days, and then flying down to Palm Springs to visit my lovely parents and grandmother. I'll be staying in Seattle with my good friend, Luke, and will really be able to take advantage of the city life during my time there. It will be good to see old friends, and some partying on Capitol Hill is certainly in order.
This will be my first time visiting my parents' new house in La Quinta, Calif. From the pictures, I can see they've made it up so beautifully, as they always do. I'm sad I scarcely get to see the pair of them, particularly with my mother being my very best friend. I actually haven't seen my grandmother in... Shoot, I can't remember the last time I saw her. It's been far too long, though. She's the only one I have!
Happy Holidays, everyone. May yours be warm and full of love.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Dead Week & the gays
This week is definitely living up to its name. I don't know why the university calls it "Dead Week," because we still have classes, homework, term papers, etc. I do know why I call it Dead Week, and that's because the students are dead. I'm not one to pull "all-nighters" on homework, but last night I was writing a research paper, creating a presentation for my geology project, and I had to teach water aerobics at 6 AM anyway. Basically I slept for 25 minutes. Does that count?
Over the weekend, the last drag show of 2011 was a total success. I kept my own drinking to a minimum (for once), which was nice because I didn't do anything stupid and I felt brilliant the next day. It was so great, because I went with some of my co-workers, as well as Marie (from Denmark), and my darling roommate Ann! It was Ann's first time, so I was really pleased she came along. It was Marie's 3rd time with me by then, so we are old veterans together. The drag shows are really the only fun place to dance around here, they aren't crawling with disgusting sorority girls, and the men are all well-kept. Sadly, they only occur once per month, so that's the bleak extent of gay culture the Palouse has to offer.
At the show, it was sort of uncomfortable how big of a hit I was with everyone. I don't really mingle with the Pullman-Moscow gays, mainly because it is such an elaborately networked scene that everyone knows everyone, and there is an excess of petty drama. Anyway, when I do get out among them, I receive copious amounts of flattery, which, although refreshing, can get a little awkward. One group kept calling me Prince Harry.
Over the weekend, the last drag show of 2011 was a total success. I kept my own drinking to a minimum (for once), which was nice because I didn't do anything stupid and I felt brilliant the next day. It was so great, because I went with some of my co-workers, as well as Marie (from Denmark), and my darling roommate Ann! It was Ann's first time, so I was really pleased she came along. It was Marie's 3rd time with me by then, so we are old veterans together. The drag shows are really the only fun place to dance around here, they aren't crawling with disgusting sorority girls, and the men are all well-kept. Sadly, they only occur once per month, so that's the bleak extent of gay culture the Palouse has to offer.
At the show, it was sort of uncomfortable how big of a hit I was with everyone. I don't really mingle with the Pullman-Moscow gays, mainly because it is such an elaborately networked scene that everyone knows everyone, and there is an excess of petty drama. Anyway, when I do get out among them, I receive copious amounts of flattery, which, although refreshing, can get a little awkward. One group kept calling me Prince Harry.
I did meet one guy I really liked, who turned out to only be in town for the weekend, because he is a dancer on tour with the Eugene Ballet! So now I have kissed a ballet dancer, and not the kind with a tutu either ; ) Ann, Marie and I went to watch him in the Nutcracker the next day. Totally magnificent. I love it when there is some semblance of art over here. I wish I could move to a more metropolitan area sooner than later, but I really think a career needs to come first. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to afford the big city amenities I went there for in the first place.
Anyway, Dead Week trudges onward. Tomorrow is (finally) my last day of teaching group swim lessons. I love the kids, but I am also relieved. I'll get an entire month off of swim lessons. Too bad I still have to teach water aerobics 4-5 days/week. I'm close with my students, absolutely, but I haven't had time to come up with any vastly new work out routines, so a lot of it gets repetitive, and I sense they're beginning to feel that too. Charmingly, students, both adult and child, have given me either adorable or delicious Christmas presents this week, thanking me for being their teacher. So nice to feel appreciated, it makes my heart melt.
I took a lot of photos of the old farmhouse I house sat on Thanksgiving, so I still need to do an entry about that. Please stay tuned.
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