Childhood Revisted! =D

Well, I've got to be honest, I kinda took the last two days off because I found a list of children's television shows from the eighties on YouTube. Whole episodes! There's nearly everything...The Muppet Babies, Transformers, Hanna Barbara cartoons, there's even one of my old favourites I didn't even remember the name of, called, "Visionaries." (I had one of the hologram toys as a kid, I thought it was the coolest thing ever.)

They even have "Gem!" You know, that 80s girls band that had more drama than the OC and ER combined? Wow, I watched an episode of that, and it took me back. It was like a mix of a Tina Turner music video and Saved by the Bell. Terrific. Anyways, check out the list if you like.

http://www.youtube.com/profile_play_list?user=DiggUser

Sustainability

Well, I must say, I've had about 10 hours sleep in the last three days, and I'm starting to wear down a bit. =D

On the bright side, I saw a movie last night. I have been going to more movies lately.

Lately, I've been thinking about how different things are becoming the more time I spend here. A year ago, I wouldn't prefer to go to a bar or out for drinks, ever. If I could avoid it, I would go somewhere else. I also wouldn't go to a movie unless I really, really wanted to see it. (And that has only ever happened with about four movies. And even then.) Nowadays, I watch movies, hang out in clubs, bars and pubs until four in the morning drinking nothing but ice tea...I'm bad, y'all. BAD.

I think the difference is that I'm learning about all the culture that normal university people experience and live through. (Which I somehow side-stepped for a good 4-5 years.) I talk about movies, and I hang out with the theatre peeps in smoke-infested clubs, and there is nary a doughnut shop to be found in Belgium where I would be if I could. (of course, they have bakeries up the wazoo, so maybe they're kinda unnecessary.)

Overall, it's nice to live here, even if it is a little different. I had a good talk with someone from the theatre last night about living in a different culture. I think what I have been forgetting is that just because I have a bad day in the place I live doesn't mean I live in a bad place nor that I'm a bad person for having a bad day because I'm big, loud and dumb and not Belgian. Being an international student, I shouldn't expect to fit in so easily, nor should I be so stressed that I am often going to be in situations where I can't seem to make things turn out the way I wanted. I have been stopping myself from enjoying myself when I should have been having a better time. There's nothing worse than making yourself miserable over things you don't need to be miserable over. Like no grocery stores being open on Sundays. (I need bread and some meat. LOL.)

But I think I have been expecting too much from a culture that is very different than mine. Living in a different place has a lot to do with adjusting to what you don't understand or would never normally do, and I guess I'm starting to learn. It's hard for someone who likes gradual and not immediate change. Like me with my hyper-OCD-ness. I'm trying to let go and be all good chi about it, but it's hard to let go and just let things happen instead of trying to make everything fit into place the way you like.

Of course, I'm still getting little to no sleep. Some things never change, eh?

Traveling went Kerplunk

Well, it's been a busy week.

Classes are finally done, and I handed in my research paper yesterday, so I now have a week to get everything organized and all good to go for finals. I have a couple papers to write as finals for classes, but other than that, it should be a lot of me sitting at my table, staring at either a book or a wall.

I also signed up to do some transcribing of philosophy lectures, which I really, really shouldn't have done, because it's taking a terribly, terribly long time, and it's terribly, terribly mind numbing. I can't understand how legal typist do it without going stark, raving bonkers. Maybe they are. I don't think I've ever met a real, live one.

I am also pretty tired today because yesterday, a mutual friend of Sarah's and I, Marijke, invited us up to where she lived in Arendonk for the evening to have a nice evening meal and hang out for the night. I couldn't remember if it was called Arendonk, Podunk, or Marhonk until we pretty much left the place. Either way it's a pretty funny name. Arendonk.

Anyways, we got into Turnhout, another place with a rather amusing name, and Marijke and her boyfriend Pieter picked us up and we went post-haste from Turnhout to Arendonk. Arendonk is a smaller village outside of Turnhout. You could almost compare Arendonk as in the greater area of Turnhout like Toronto residents consider everything outside of Toronto in the GTA. ;) We then proceeded to have the most excellent meal I have had since I have been in Belgium, and I had real, homemade, Flemish stew, which was great in ways that only meat eaters understand. After dinner we went to a crazy little bar in Turnhout, the cultural centre in those parts, and also close to where we needed to catch our train, so we had the Flemish equivalent of a Shirley Temple (which is called a lemon squash, and really, it has enough lemon to make you do the sucky-lemon-face.) and generally it was one of those perfect evenings you rarely get. Afterwards we headed to catch the last train home.

However, when we went to change trains in Lier, we listened (Well, just me, Sarah was pretty tired, and so was I, or we would have just checked the schedules like intelligent people do.) to the train announcer, and I thought he said that track was going to Leuven, but really it was track five, and we actually ended up getting back on the last train of the night which went straight. Back. Where we came from. LOL.

The announcer guy said the track not last, like they usually do, but he said what track to go on, and THEN where it was going, and I wasn't thinking, and they usually do it the other way, and so I made a mistake in another language which I have little to no grasp of. Much to our surprise, and Sarah's dismay, the train squeaked to a finish with our window directly in front of the big blue sign that said 'Turnhout.' (I was pretty amused at the whole situation.)

We phoned Marijke, and ended up staying at her place for the night. The embarrassing thing was that Marijke had offered to let us sleep over for the night earlier in an e-mail, and we had declined. (Well, I didn't even know she had said that...I'm bad at remembering details sometimes.) Sarah was really stressed that we had to phone Marijke at first because I guess it made us look silly, but I simply told her that in comparison, we could be in a much worse situation. We could be lost in Italy somewhere after walking for 14 hours in the day, having been hailed on and having eating next to nothing, at which point I said I would have no qualms in using her as a bargaining chip with some drunk Italian men to find us a warm place to sleep for the night, or just to find me a warm place to sleep for the night. Besides, I officially have no travel pride left at all. I've embarassed myself on so many international levels that I just can't bring myself to even try to hold up a facade of travel smarts. I'm a walking, talking, bad chi travel bomb and I know it. I simply accept and move on. Well, unless it's 12am in Turnhout. Then I stand around a lot.

And, also, I think that if Marijke felt comfortable enough to invite us over for the evening for a meal in her own family's home, which is pretty stellar comfort level in Belgian terms, I doubt that it would be a problem if we made an honest mistake and took them up on their request to stay the night which they had originally offered anyways.

Besides, if it was me in Marijke's situation, I don't think I would be upset at all. I think it would be pretty amusing, and I wouldn't think anything of it. I've done more for less, I'm sure. I slept with my contacts in, which was a little um, well not smart, but I was tired, and I slept for maybe five hours last night, interrupted by hooting owls and pigeons and a scary dream where a giant moth almost ate me. Yeah.

All in all, I had a really fun time, and it turned out really well. =D So, being lost in Turnhout wasn't so bad. I'm glad I didn't stress out like I normally do. I guess I'm becoming more used to rolling with the traveling punches. Or I can't feel it when I'm sucker-punched anymore. ;)





Sarah and Brennan, turned out in the cold in Turnhout, May 2006.

Good times. =)

Dreams Again

I'm starting to have dreams about my research paper again.

It helps that I haven't talked to my supervisor in a while, and I was really, REALLY tired yesterday.

I really need to finish this and just hand the stupid thing in. Sigh.

You are Ocean Blue

You're both warm and practical. You're very driven, but you're also very well rounded. You tend to see both sides to every issue, and people consider you a natural diplomat.

What Color Blue Are You?

More Ninja

This, I thought was really funny.

But I think anything that makes fun of ninjas is funny. Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A07vYT3p0aI&dpos=3

Brennan's Cookbook of Terribly...Good Food! =D

Yes, yes, it's time for another cooking episode! =D Today, it is, yet again, pasta. Why pasta, you ask? Because pasta is cheap, inexpensive, and filling, and mildly more nutritious than that bag of chips I ate last night at 11pm at night.

Sweet, Sweet Ham and Broccoli Tagliatelli

2 cups Tagliatelli
1/2 cup broccoli, frozen
1/4 cup sliced/finely cut ham
Honey
Honey or Dijon Mustard
1/2 cup shredded cheese (Gouda)

Salt and pepper to taste


1. Boil that pasta. =) If you don't have this type of pasta, then I suggest another kind of wide but thin noodle.

2. To defrost broccoli, I tend to let it soak for a bit in luke warm water. Of course, if you're using fresh broccoli, you'll want to cook it. I don't recommend boiling it for this dish, but you can if you want. Some light grilling or steaming is probably preferable.
3. Ham is ham. Not hard to cook, nor hard to cook well. Mine was pre-cooked, so no probs. You could even use pre-packaged ham, so whatever you have lying around in the fridge is good. =D
4. Shred yourself some cheese. I used gouda, and I find this works well with sweet more than salty dishes. Of course, cheddar would also work well here, but mozzerella may be inappropriate because of its mild taste.
5.Drain the pasta, and add the ham and broccoli.
6. Now is the fun part. I recommend adding a Tblspn of honey, and about half a Tblspn of mustard, whichever you have on hand. I suppose yellow mustard would work, but it might be a really different taste, and it will probably colour your pasta more than the other mustards.
7. Add the cheese and a little pepper, and salt if you preder, and mix it up. At this point you should have a pleasant, cheesy dish, with a little bit of zing.

Today I marinated pork chops and had potatoes and carrots. It was good. =D

OK, I have more to say, but it can wait. Talk to you all soon!

So, I just had a weird dream last night.

My friend Sarah and I were flying back to Canada, and we had flown into a smaller airport for some reason, taken a bus, and then somehow got stranded in the middle of Ontario. While we were looking at the map of Canada, she said we were very far away from where we needed to be. I said, No problem, and proceeded to move a red dot on the map that represented us and drag the red dot across the map closer to where we wanted to go, somewhere around a border between Quebec and Ontario. When we looked up, we were standing beside a highway, and I couldn't decide whether we were supposed to go left or right, and Sarah said we go left, that's the way to Toronto. (We were trying to get to Toronto.) So we began walking left, and immediately ended up in a giant beach resort with the sun shining and people laughing and carrying around drinks and flowers in their hair. The beach resort was named a small place that I had visited once with my Uncle Mitch, although I can't for the life of me remember what it was called. (I saw a sign in a dream, but it changed when I looked at it three times from Vespa Beach, to Perdue, to what it actually was, which I don't remember.)

Sarah looks at the map, and says, with an extremely distressed tone, that we were VERY far away from where we needed to be. At this point there was a bit of a commotion, and for some reason, Tim Allen showed up with the lady who played his wife off of Home Improvement, with really gray hair, being followed around by about fifteen people all asking if they could take pictures of him, and he posed and was pleasant to them. Sarah also asked to take a picture of him, which she did, and I wanted to stop her because, hey, the man's on a vacation. That's no way to treat him. After they left, he sighed a sigh of relief, and walked over to the beach to sit by himself. I was now alone, and I don't know where Sarah went, but I assumed she went into the store to figure out a plan how to get to Toronto. I walked up under a little side hut attached to the main lounge, and looked at Tim Allen sitting on the beach all by himself, with the tide coming on a perfect sandy beach, and felt pretty forlorn over the fact that I was supposed to be in Toronto and that I was in a beautiful beach resort miles and kilometres and days and days of walking away from my destination. I heaved a big sigh and started to walk away.

Then someone called from behind, "Hey man, why you so sad?" I thought for a moment it was Tim Allen talking to me, and since I didn't think I really ought to deserve talking to anybody famous, I felt pretty flattered, like I was in one of those TV miniseries where good things happen to people who are down on their luck or Sidekicks with Chuck Norris or something. (Yes, I know. I was dreaming.) I turned around and I big group of black guys that I didn't notice before were staring right at me, as if I was the new show in town. This one guy with dreadlocks started talking to me, asking why I was so sad when I was in such a nice place. He said he's always happy, and he lives off of water and eating small things like seeds. He reminded me of King Louie from the Jungle Book, with the way he was talking to me. I was afraid he was going to start breaking into Bob Marley's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" with his posse as back up singers. Luckily, Tim Allen happened to come over and asked what the problem was. The guys answered for me, and said I was miles and kilometres and days away from where I was supposed to be and so I was sad. Tim Allen wanted to buy the men a drink for being so nice to me, and they tried to turn him down because they said they don't drink or eat a lot of things that he was offering them, but then one of the beach waitresses came around, and Tim Allen looked at her, and she said, "Don't worry, I'll bring them some vegetables and things they like." The guys looked pretty happy, and Tim Allen asked me to go sit a little ways away under the shade with him and talk about things. He asked where I was going, and who was that girl I was traveling with? I said she was a very good friend of mine, and Tim Allen nodded, and then we sat for a while, just staring out, watching the people, and I suddenly felt a lot more relaxed and like I shouldn't worry so much about where I was going. We talked a little more, and then one the waitresses came and bothered him, to which he said a few things. I was surprised he didn't have bodyguards or more people around him since he had a pretty big career, and he said that People with less fame than him walk around with a horde of people following him just because they want them, and he has only one person. He sounded kind of critical. We laid in the sand for a little longer in silence. Then he started talking about various things, most of which I don't remember, since I then woke up.

Dreams are strange things.

Well, there we are

Well, I'm done my second draft.

Tomorrow I'll edit the evil right outta it.

Then I'll hand it in.

Then I'll keep editing it even after I hand it in.

No rest for the lazy. =D

Movie Review

I just saw the Da Vinci Code today, and I've officially concluded--

it's actually worse than the book.

Seriously, gouge your eyes out for fun instead of seeing this movie. You'll have a better time, than sitting through three hours of reliving the nightmare of that which is the Da Vinci Code.

In other news, I'm really not getting a lot of work done this week, which is bad.

Pictures!

These are just SOME of the pictures from the play "This Might Be Heaven: Living in Leuven"a play by Janus International Theatre.

Enjoy.




































This is right before the play, where Samira and Colin are trying to decide what to do because we've already before the play started sold 106 tickets, and there was supposed to be a whole swack more of people coming who were just going to buy at the door. It ended up being just the right number of people. Like, 160. =D






This is our big group hurrah before the play starts. We were like a football team, only we smelled better.




Sarah asking me to express myself how I felt right before the play. As per usual, she got my good side, which is the one that's happy on the outside...




screamy on the inside.





Intermission. Half of the people standing outside getting fresh air, half people inside getting drinks.







This was at the end of the play. We wuz thankin' everybodyz while the Aretha Franklin played wid LOVE.






This is me after, at 3 in the morning, wishing my mom a Happy Mother's Day. The flower is one that everybody recieved at the end of the play. I don't really know what kind they are...although someone said they might be Black-eyed Susans? I'm not sure.

Well, that's all for now folks. I have a lot more pictures of the actual play, but those'll have to wait, and...besides, I can just show you the DVD when I get home. We have it all on tape. =D

Until next time. =)

Play Over!

Well, it's finally done.

And I had a blast. And it was a big success. We had about 150 people crammed into Pangaea. Thankfully, one of them wasn't the fire chief. =D It was pretty amazing.

You know, I think that I'm happy that it's over because that means that I can do work and focus on the important things in life.

Or, to translate that, life is now going to be existential and boring and stressful and filled with non-Brennan style fun until the end of the year. ;)

I really was happy to do this play, but I guess I'm feeling a large gaping hole since it's finished. It's hard to explain, but there it is. A big gaping hole. It's funny, most everyone was just sitting around, hanging out after we had finished the play, cleaned up, and we just sat around at 2 in the morning. I think we didn't want to leave...because that meant it REALLY was over. And by over, I mean OVER. Most international students here only come for a year or a semester. Those here for a short time usually finish their exams before the normal exam period starts so they can go home sooner. So approximately 10 of the fifteen theatre members that we spent together putting together one of the best shows I think I'll ever be in, and I would hazard to say the best, will be gone in two weeks, and I'll probably never see them again.

Things like that stress me out. Mega.

Leuven is a beautiful place to live because everything is new, and there is never a short of people to meet. The problem is that every single person who goes to university here is in serious transit. It's rootless. And being without roots is a hard thing to be.

I think that's something that has changed since I've been here. I know that school is important, and that's why I'm here, but, really, I don't think that life is a one-track deal. People like that aren't any fun, and it's unhealthy. (Re: Everyone I go to school with has their own particular brand of neurosis. I put myself in the 'generally too happy to be in philosophy and that's a bad thing' category. I'm pretty sure that's where other people in the program evaluate me as.) I've become more understanding that things change, and that people have to stand on their own two feet. Including me. And that's hard.

I guess I'm just wondering how I'm going to stay sane until the end of finals. (Which go until June 29th for me. LOL.) It's difficult when you know that the ground you're standing on is shakier than you think. I have no problem with working hard...I just have a problem with not knowing where my friends are...literally. But I guess as you grow up, people move away, and no matter how hard you try, you can't keep them forever. You just have to know you're still as close as you can be, just in your heart and mind rather than in person. And while it's all hokey and stuff, I guess it's still something new for me...I'm not usually the one who moves away...I'm usually the one who stays where I came from, and doesn't go anywhere. I kinda like being like that. Travel is interesting...but not knowing what to call home creates a type of uncertainty that I'm still reeling from. Overall, I think I'll manage, and I know it's not the end, but even Buddhists have a community. Humans need some place to grow their gardens.

I had a great time, and I hope I don't forget how great it was.

I'll post some pictures a little later.

Play Madness

Well, it really is mad.

I should be in bed right now.

But I can't sleep. Even though I'm exhausted. The play is tomorrow, and I need to help set up and be there by eleven, and church is at ten.

You know, this is the second marathon I've run now. Helping run a play is like a marathon, only a mental one. And trying to be in sync with everything and everyone is a hard thing to do. But I'm managing, I think. To recap, I'm going to have a best moment, worst moment:

The best part of tonight was just that the practice went really well, and people took things seriously, which I think will help them tomorrow to deal with the pressure. (No clue if Brennan will deal with the pressure properly. Goodness knows probably not.)

The worst part of tonight was that I sweat a lot, and I had some pretty rank BO. I think the deodorant I'm using just doesn't work, and I'm really mad because normally this never happens, and I try really hard never to be the smelly kid, and I totally had a smelly kid moment tonight. And tried to be all 'cool wid it.' People throw apples at smelly children. I'm this close to being appled.







Here are a few pictures from today:



Stage step one.




Stage two.







Stage being taped. (And it's funny, because I actually knew how to do this.)






This is Karolina being funny. She was the "Video Killed the Radio Star" Angel for an hour or so. She's in charge of costumes and set design. She did a really good job.



The only thing I would have changed about the play right now is the backdrop curtains. We forgot to get new ones, so we had to use uber ghetto old black backdrop curtains, and it's pretty grade three. But there's nothing doing about it now, and as long as it functions, we'll be ok, I think. I'm not sure if I'm cut out to be stage manager, but that's what I'm doing, and that's what Colin and I had decided that I would do when we started this crazy thing.

Well, it's almost 2 in the morning, and we started at 4pm today, so I should probably get some rest. I'll let you know the deets a little later how the play went.

=D

Battleground Brennan

I feel compelled to share this link with you because my good friend Sarra had it on her blog (and if you like plants and knitting, you should check out her blog, since that's her life now that summer has started) where you can play "Battleground God" a fun game to see if your beliefs about God are conistent, or whether you'll end up biting a few bullets. Check it out.

Also, in other news, I finally got a hair cut.




I now have gone to the dark side and back.

Long hair is terrible. Too much work.

I have given up my hippie ways, and my heart (and head, coincidentally) is lighter for it.

Long hair isn't for me. =)

Play is in 3 days.

I have to run some errands, and then work on my paper.

Allergies are lingering, but on the way out. =D I'll post more soon. =D

It's Evil, It's All Evil

Well, I'm working on my paper right now, and it's going....not bad. I'm still struggling with keeping the focus on the issue. My paper meeting went as well as I thought it was going to go, so I'm happy that I foretold it so well, although, in reality, the meeting wasn't especially pleasant. I saw this coming though, because no matter what I did, I was pretty sure whatever I was going to write was going to be terrible because I haven't written a real paper on my own time in something like 6-7 months now, so I'm bound to be rusty. (Finals really, really don't count.) I'm also bound to be all over the place, which is always a big problem for me when I write papers, especially bigger more complicated ones. (Translation: I have no clue why I thought this was a good, easy and narrow topic. LOL.)

The hilarious thing was that I had this meeting while Traviska was over, and Travis was waiting for me in the room next door, and he basically heard everything that was said, and there was a lot of yelling (Re: I have a great relationship with my promoter.) about who was wrong where, but generally it was just about me being wrong about everything, which I totally agreed with him about. (Which, I think, threw him for a loop incidentally.) The only things I really disagreed with him about, I don't even disagree with him anymore now that I'm looking at my paper. In fact, I'm not sure what the heck I was thinking. I'm glad I can at least look at that in retrospect now as opposed to after I get a mark for this thing.

OK, well, I should start working on it. I'll talk to you all later. Until then, an elephant! =D

Nothing like a little cheer

You Are Death

You symbolize the end, which can be frightening. But you also symbolize the immortality of the soul. You represent transformation, rebirth of a new life. Sweeping away the past is part of this card, as painful as it may be. Your fortune: Don't worry, this card does not predict death itself. Instead it foreshadows the ending of an era of your life, one that is hard to let go of. But with the future great new things will come, and it's time to embrace them. Mourn for a while, but then face the future with humility and courage.

What Tarot Card Are You?

Trav-ails! =D

OK, well, I'm going to give you a very, very...very brief tour of all ze tours that Travis and I did whilst he was in Belgium. Judging from his e-mails he's getting well and sloshed in German-land. Good for him. =)






This is when Travis first got here. While I was doing some other work, Travis took it upon hisself to blow up the air mattress. He nearly passed out, resulting in much hilarity. Well, from me, anyways.






This is the theatre group doing something at acting practice. As per usual, it looks like someone has fallen over and requires medical assistance. Travis took a picture to 'capture the moment.' This was on his first day here.






This is Travis at the Philosophy Party after acting practice. We stayed until about 1:30 in the morning. Travis had a good time, and a beer or two. While it wasn't a lot of fun, because, y'know, at a philosophy party people just stand around and look awkward even though the paid to get into a dance club, I still had a good time, and I was really gross and sweaty by the end, mainly because I was sick as 'o' dog that night, but it was still really fun for me and Travis, even if everyone else just stood around, being all 'existential.' =D This was also on Travis' first night here. I tried to tire him out so the jet lag wouldn't be so bad, but he was pretty full of energy the entire time.






This is me taking Travis all around Leuven looking at all the interesting things there is to see here...like statues! These people can't get enough of them! Anyways, we toured a lot of the nice cathedrals and had a very nice time overall. Genius, really, I felt like quite the tour guide...even if I couldn't remember what half the statues were called, and just called them "That really famous guy thingy that people always talk about here."

Yeah...maybe I'm not cut out for tourism.




This is me looking EXTREMELY excited to be in class on Thursday! =D It's a good thing Travis was there to take notes (he requested that I bring a notebook for him, and so I did, but I assumed he would be doodling, but, alas, that's what I did, and that's not what he did. *Grin*) or I would have hardly any notes worth keeping at all! =D No, seriously, this week of classes there were a lot of them cancelled, and a lot of them were repeat infos for me, so Travis was making some interesting comments like, "Gee, Brennan, I know this is all old hat for you, but it's really interesting for me!" At which point I said things like, "Well, as long as one of us is finding it interesting."




This is half of our tour guide, Phillip, who gave us a terrifically splendid tour of Brugge and also gave us the name of a very nice Flemish restauraunt where I could have Travis try 'real' Flemish cuisine. Phillip is a very nice guy, and we were on tour with an English family, so it was a pretty cozy tour, only five people, so not very 'touristy' but highly amusing. The English family was from Essex, and between the three of them, they were a riot. The mother was always trying to stuff the beer glasses into her purse when no one was looking, the father kept talking about how everything is much too small in Belgium, especially the beer, even if it is nice, and the daughter simply abhorred have lettuce (or 'salad' as she called it) on her sandwich and had to have her meal taken back twice at lunch time. It was like being on the set of the Osbournes, only less expensive.








This is just ONE of about a ka-jillion photos that Travis and I took while in Ieper. We visited all the cool cemeteries, and we had a really great time. This was our historical tour, and I think it really turned out well, overall. We were on a tour with some Dutch, English and New Zealanders. Surprisingly, the Dutch couple were the most talkative and the nicest to Travis and me. Although the tour wasn't exactly to scream about, I was really happy with it, and I think we got a lot for what we paid, so I'm pretty satisfied. =D








Lastly, we went to the Antwerp Zoo, which was AMAZING. THERE WERE GIRAFFES. =D =D =D I can't TELL YOU how much I jumped up and down like a five year old kid. (Although I'm sure Sarah and Travis can.) This is a picture of Travis trying to fit in with the local wildlife. I suppose it's especially relevant that he's wearing what I officially dubbed 'the explorer hat' while we were at the zoo. I tried to find Travis a new hat while he was here, but to no avail. I must try harder next time. =D


OK, there are literally hundreds of more pictures, but I have to go running at 8am tomorrow morning, and I need to sleep. So I'll talk to you all later. =D

Play is in six days. =)

Blogging

Oh, and by the way, blogging will be a little slow for me because blogger keeps eating my posts. So hence reason for the no updation in the Belgian nation. Check it out.

Word.

Updates, finally

Well, it's been a hectic week, and let me tell you, and there were a lot of surprises.

Overall, it was pretty A+. =D

I ran in my very first marathon, a bike and run with a partner on Wednesday, and we got 3 hours and 9 minutes. =D =D =D

I'm pretty happy with myself. I was pretty sure I was gonna die, but it ended up being more like, "I'm really glad I did that, and next time, I'm going to train for it properly, because man, now that the race is over, I'M GONNA DIE." There's a long story behind it all, but suffice to say, the moral is to always know what's what and when's when. Otherwise you could be running after the bus that's almost leaving without you. Yeah. *Grin* It was a neat feeling, though. All the runners were all cheerful and happy, and we were all having a good time, even though it was something like 25 degrees out. I really enjoyed myself.

Given my lack of sleep from traveling with Travis, and my sinus-allergy-killer-cold-attack, and the marathon, I'm a little bit low on the energy scale, but everything managed to turn out alright. =) The last week has been travel, almost every day, and then classes, as well as meeting with professors, acting practice, and then I saw Travis off at the train station, and then Paul and I did a marathon together. It was crazy, but fun. (Allergy season is almost over. And it's starting to get warm here. Summer is in the air! =D Which means less pollen! YAY!) Once I can wake up without having to de-phelgmatize myself in the morning, I'm going to be able to do so much more so much more easily. We'll see if this leads to an increase in productivity. I think it will.

Anyways, I will post some pictures soon, probably just the highlights of the Belgium traveling, since between Travis and I, we probably took something near 1000 pictures. I still have to go through them all. Good times. =D

I hope everyone has had a good week, as mine has been really quite interesting.

Next week on Sunday, Janus Theatre does it's play of the season. Still need to get costumes and technicals worked out, but otherwise we're pretty much ready to play it.

Anyways, I'll update soon with lots of interesting pictures and stories! Wait for more updating goodness! =D