the discontinued series

moving...

2011-04-28T11:19:00.001-06:00

**********

2010-06-15T17:20:00.001-06:00

*****

2009-02-16T15:40:00.002-07:00

although I contemplated starting it up here.... i am going to walk my posting fingers over to my new blog which is going to focus entirely on my quest to hone my skills as a hobbyist with any and just about every hobby under the sun.

stay tuned!

2008-04-21T15:02:00.002-06:00

just wanted to post so this blog doesn't get deleted before i get my act together and save the important stuff....

Pink Sweater =

A fuzzy bubblegum wrapper
A harmless pristine exterior
Pink sweater, pink lips, pink tongue
Fluff to wrap thorns
and a hope of safe handling.

i'm still here...

2007-06-10T09:10:00.000-06:00

hello all

i haven't posted in tooo long but a word of advice: don't have a blog AND a scrapbook... one will always get neglected!
i'm in lille for the last time... i had to show jeremy around town! we previously were in corsica for one week, brussels for two days and bruges for four days... i have way too many stories to fit on here (not to mention that my internet time is precious these days) so let's just say... this summer is going to be amazing!

i will be updating during the summer for frequently, the last few weeks were just a little crazy trying to pack up and travel and say hellos and good byes all at the same time. so, until next time!

it's late...

2007-05-12T18:19:00.000-06:00

note: i have been here for 4 months, not 5 (thanks mom, even though it FEELS like 5 ok?)

just wanted to share a MAGNIFIQUE movie with you all...
http://www.panslabyrinth.com/

very, very, well done!
ok, i am off to bed because i have an important mission at the market tomorrow morning... presents!! yes, that's right. so if you don't get one, it's because a) i slept in and forgot or b) i don't really like you that much.

haha have a great day!

a zombie's anniversary rant

2007-05-10T13:11:00.000-06:00

so, i am supposed to be studying but i don't feel like it.
the last time i looked at this material, our last class to date was march 28. it is now may 10... i don't even remember what my prof looked like, let alone remember what Popelard says about the interactive nature of contemporary art... such a long break in between class and finals is very hard to deal with. the break feels like the end, but then you have to get right back into it again! i think i like the canadian system much better...

one week until my parentals come! can you believe it? i have been here for 5 months exactly TODAY. it's like... my anniversary with france! how sweet.... we're like going steady now. le sigh
my parents will be a nice anniversary present... that is a kind of creepy statement if taken out of context, no?

ok, now i am just rambling so that i don't have to focus on this crap. so i will get back to it....

salut pour maintenant,

a zombie with bangs (i cut them myself!)

p.s. I love lucy!! i have been watching the show with lee lately and i laugh out loud constantly! so that is my recommendation for the weekend - go rent some seasons and be ready for some old-fashioned belly action http://www.tv.com/i-love-lucy/show/1038/summary.html

whOA - K

2007-05-08T06:40:00.000-06:00

A few interesting facts about france:

1. chi chi = churro A.K.A deep fried sticks of goodness covered in sugar and don't come as a singular churro like in edmonton, no, you get like 9 at once!

2. dog poo + shoe = an uncomfortable picnic experience

3. it is perfectly acceptable to portray naked woman on the side of rides at the carnival... especially if the ride has anything do with with America

let's see....

I had a wonderful dinner with some fellow canadians (+ Malika who is an honorary canadian haha) on Saturday night. We went to Ian's apartment, a guy from Montreal who we met at Vimy. The coolest part was this cafe we went to post-dinner that was in Old Lille, hence it was an old building. They put tealights in all the holes in the brick walls...there was also live trombone music and peanuts. Also, there was a giant hole in the floor covered by blue plate glass, it lookes down into some kind of cellar. I think I am officially turning french because I ordered one of their impossibly small coffees and was actually satisfied, drinking it in more than 15 seconds!

Sunday was picnic day. Ian, Julie, Katie, Jake (her bf), Raelene and Malika and myself all stopped at the market for some goodies and went for a little picnic. As we sat, the smell of poo kept wafting by, hindering the enjoyment of my black pepper goat cheese and fig semolina bread. Well, at least I wasn't crazy - there was a nice little pile smushed into my shoe! Sigh... after that little emergency, we carried on successfully! Next to our spot was an exhibit housed in a greenhouse that compiled all the floats left over from Lille's India parade in January... there was an elephant like 20 metres high! We also checked out the Fine Arts museum because it was free... but not so fine as I had imagined! The layout was difficult and distracting, and the "artifacts" area hadn't been renovated in a while... So on to the carnival... it is something to see! There are true carneys there and all the rides have naked women on them? Great influence for the kiddies...We shared some deep-fried-sugar-goodness at the park next door for dinner. (SHH I KNOW)

And... it has rained non stop since then!

new obsessions

2007-05-05T06:00:00.000-06:00

i feel like one cool and interesting thing is happening right after the next here right now... i am really loving lille! my new obsessions:

*hawaian pizza made with tomato sauce AND cream sauce, oh those french!

*blackberry beer, plus all the other flavors they offer: coconut, vanilla, strawberry, violets, raspberry, peach, orange, cinnamon... le sigh. yeah

*Cafe des Six Roses: great vintage cafe just down the road, how did i not know about this before? they play vinyl only, the bartender is constantly changing records. the walls are lined with art books, comics, board games, dictionaries et al which are there for perusal. PLUS you get snacks for free!

*Valentine's Day: no not the day, the band! Lillois and relatively new, they kick ass!
www.myspace.com/valentinesdaymusic

Lee and I went to their concert on Thursday night at Le Drugstore, gotta love that fringlish! Not only did we watch them play for 2 and a half hours, we met the band and their families! We exchanged e-mails and might be able to get a copy of their music (not released). Probably one of the best nights so far...

*Large Item pick-up: the French have good junk! Items recently acquired off the side of the street? A wicker bedside table, a new book, Harry Potter trading cards and a painting.

witch's familiar spotted while strolling through the park thursday afternoon

spanish flood

2007-05-03T07:55:00.000-06:00

the title says it all....

crazy partying spanish neighbour + party + 2 am

= broken radiator and complete flooding of my room

i was so kindly told by a girl whose friend got a phone call from a girl at the party next to my room... so that i could rescue my clothes, laptop charger etc.

sigh

Marseille? Marsun! ahhh bad joke...

2007-05-01T06:22:00.000-06:00

Wow! So my internet is once again the crappiest thing on the planet...

I got back from my little trip to the south of France on Saturday, but because of no internet and holidays (everything is closed) this is the first time that I have been able to post anything!

My trip was FANTASTIC! I got a tan, some relaxation and a little sight seeing in as well... it was a great way to end the two week marathon spring break! I 'm really looking forward to finishing classes and exams (my first test in on Friday) and getting on with the summer!

We got in Tuesday afternoon and just hung out on the beach for the evening. Two of our friends, Lee and Amy, were already there so we met up with them! They were already quite burned from the sun so I was nervous for the fate of my skin! We got these amazing ice cream sundaes that were HUGE and came with all the toppings...sooo much chocolate!

Wednesday was designated tourist day. Raelene and I got up and left for town early on the bus and then we walked down to the Old Port. We were fortunate (not sure if that is the right word!) to catch the opening of the fish market – they’d just chop the heads off before the fish were even dead! We really just had one purpose that day: to go to the Chateau d’If, the site of the real Monte Cristo!! We took a boat to the island which was nice because we got a mini harbour tour. The chateau itself was really cool, it was a military base and prison. The had a history of the building as well as info about the novel and its influences. The actual tunnel dug between the two cells is still there! We stayed on the island for lunch (it is really small) and ate lunches that we had bought from the grocery store including mini bottles of wine. Probably the cutest alcohol I’ve ever seen haha. When we got back, we went to visit the Basilica Lady of the Guard which sits on the highest hill in Marseille. The walk was LONG and STEEP but the view was worth it! The church itself wasn’t as cool as I’d thought it would be, but you cool see for miles! We stayed in the city for a while longer, just wandering around. We got free samples of smoothies and cake and then, like 10 minutes later we got free samples from the Body Shop! We still wanted to get in some beach time so we split a strawberry tart and hung out at the beach with some people from the hostel. That night, Raelene and I went out for an actual dinner: Mussels and Fries! Finally! And some beer…we ate right on the beach so we watched the sunset. There was a mother and daughter staying in our room and they shared some cookies with us before bed. I was really full!

Thursday and Friday I hung out on the beach by myself, everyone else left in the morning to other destinations. The beach there is little pebbles but it's actually quite comfortable! I also visited the botanical gardens which had turtles in the pond! That was my favorite part for sure. I just read magazines and tried to get a tan.. I did burn a little! I met a girl who went to Lille two years ago and was staying in my room, we ate dinner together of thursday night and reminisced, it was nice!

My only other crazy adventure was trying to get home! My train was late and so I had even less time to transfer in Paris than the hour I originally had... and I had lost all my change! I had to bum money off people until I had enough to take the metro to the other train station... sigh. But I made it home finally at midnight....life is never dull!

I posted my pics on my online album : http://picasaweb.google.com/leahskinner8
go see go see!

p.s.

2007-04-21T13:49:00.000-06:00

who says i can't cook?

red pepper and mozzarella with olive and balsamic starter

Can't stop me!

2007-04-21T11:46:00.000-06:00

I decided to not let my new disease stop me - the sun was beckoning for me to come outside and enjoy it! I meandered down to the main square and into old lille and I ended up going to the Hospice de Comtesse, an old hospital run by nuns turned museum of Lille and historical site. It was really interesting actually. Did you know that Louis Watteau (famed Rococo artist) was the official painter for the city of Lille? Sorry, it's the art history nerd coming out in me...

The courtyard of the Hospice...no, the photo hasn't been retouched!
*

This globe mapped the astrological patterns at the exact moment of Louis XIV's birth. Isn't that crazy?
*

Moi! Don't judge, I'm sick!

An too-expensive chocolate and a banana-shaped purse I picked up today... what do we think about it?
*

one day at a time...

2007-04-21T03:44:00.000-06:00

my week of "recovery" has left me with a fever and a sore throat... yikes! hence, nothing much to report from here - i have just been watching movies and reading and whatnot; i keep heading somewhere thinking i'll go to a museum or something but i get so tired that i usually just turn around and head back to my shoebox! oh well, at least the beach will be nice next week, right?

just for "kicks" here is a picture of some new shoes i recently purchased - very leah, no?

Bird poo

2007-04-19T03:34:00.000-06:00

hi! as jeremy has so kindly reminded me, i have not posted in a weekish... not because i didn't want to! my internet hasn't been feeling so well but it seems to be at optimal health again so here we go!

not that there is much to report - it is spring break here in Lille and everyone is off traveling to exciting places and having grand adventures except...me..... no! i am going to Marseille next week for some beach time so i decided to lay low this week in the interest of resting, relaxing and saving money!

i'm realizing that i kind of like myself though! i have had a lot of time to myself since not very many people are around, and i've gotten around to things i have wanted to do around here: mainly, reading, sleeping, sitting and shopping! it's nice to not have a mile-long list of things to do for once! trust me, i know how lucky i am!

so here is my advice for the day: take as much time as you can afford today (even 2 minutes is good) and RELAX! it's something i haven't done enough of and i'm sure you aren't either! DOCTOR'S ORDERS!

bird poo that narrowly missed my head but hit my blanket at the park...

X-Ray Day

2007-04-13T07:29:00.000-06:00

So I had to go get a medical exam to obtain my living permit, which was not the funnest thing to do in the world...but they let you keep your x-rays here!! This is my favorite souvenir from France so far...

Hahahaha it *cracks* me up... I hung it on my wall!

Vimy Ridge Madness!

2007-04-13T07:22:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by the Canadian consulat in Lille to participate in the rededication ceremy of Vimy Ridge... I thought it sounded cool, but no big deal right? WRONG! I had no idea that it was going to be an extravangaza of Canadian pride and craziness!

We show up at this thing to "volunteer" and get all this free stuff - pins, a cd, a book, pencils, a vest - we get fed Subway all day (luxury here in France, I'm tellin ya!) AND then we get to sit in the VIP section with the veterans to watch the Queen, Stephen Harper and the prime minister of France speak!

It was quite the day to say the least! I also met some really great Canadians from the area who I plan to keep in touch with!

But I still can't die happy... I wasn't lucky enough to meet Peter Mansbridge! I guess Jeremy saw me on tv?

The Queen is a very cute little lady.

Easter Dinner... just like the grown-ups!

2007-04-13T07:14:00.000-06:00

Hi!

I haven't had Internet for a while so I'll do a couple of posts here separately...

Easter Sunday, a few of us here (20 or so!) put together an Easter potluck dinner to sidetrack us from the fact that we couldn't be with our families... I made the mashed potatoes of course! It turned out quite well and a good time was had by all! See? we did it just like the grown-ups!

I carried out the mashed potato tradition quite nicely - Everyone said they were their favorite part!

I love the potluck....

Yeah, I know....stop drooling.

Nothing says a good night like a moss-covered toilet...

2007-04-07T12:21:00.000-06:00

I have HAVE to show you this... My friend Laura from Ireland and I went to a DJ showcase on friday night because all the DJ's were from Canada (!) It was amazing....but what was even more amazing was the bathroom - it was done in theme, although I'm not sure what theme haha! Anyways, have a look for yourselves:

Good times.

Meet my new best friend in France...Henri!

2007-04-07T12:08:00.000-06:00

After a particularily raucous weekend here at the foyer, there were several casualties. One being the employment of our residence "madame" and the other, our microwave. So, at this point we were down to 2 burners for 150 students, and then. And then, they locked the kitchen to "show us a lesson". In a food-fueled rage, I marched down to the store to find ANYTHING to cook with.... As it was, this incident was fated for me, as it led me to Henri. Henri, the indoor electric barbeque grill.

Our first week together has been awesome! Pizzas, french toast, pasta, curry, turkey burgers, veggies....here is one particularily fun event: Katie and Leah's veggie burger experiment!

The burgers are so happy they are smiling. We all love Henri!

The finished product...sooo good.

Kraft Dinner, my love

2007-04-04T04:42:00.000-06:00

That's right! I had Kraft Dinner last night YESSSSSS It was very generous of my friend Katie from Georgia to share! It tasted like home!

Pics from the beach in Calais are up on my web album if you want to see them! My interweb doesn't feel like loading them up on my blog at the moment...arg http://picasaweb.google.com/leahskinner8

Calais? Pourquoi pas?

2007-04-03T02:24:00.000-06:00

So! Sunday's exciting event? We (Me, Malika [USA], Adam [USA], Tanya [Ukraine], Ina [Ukraine], Licette [Mexico] ) took a day trip to the coast, a town called Calais, to sit our bums on the beach and chill all day. SOOOO much fun!

We left at 8ish in the morning to go, it takes an hour and a bit to get there, and arrived a little before 10. There's a really cute park and gardens near the train station so we checked them our and played in a playground. Oh! I also got a chocolate chip cookie that was way too good! We toured the town a bit, saw some historical monuments. Calais is the port that links with Dover in Great Britain so it was a strategic war town and has a lot of history. Did you know it was liberated by Canada in WW2? Ok, enough with the trivia...

Down to what's REALLY important.. the beach! White, smooth sand and blue COLD water... we got greasy french fries and ate lunch, then walked down by the water. Basically we just listened to music and hung out for hours. Perfect for a Sunday. We got the (brilliant? haha) idea to write a message and put it in a bottle - we are so original! But we did it in four languages, English, French, Spanish, and Russian. We felt a little stupid throwing it off the pier but oh well! It was a little cold and windy but the sun made up for it. After eating some ice cream (I got pear and coconut) we headed home at 7:30ish. I met a couple from Calgary on the train.. weird hey? Actually I recognized that they were Canadian because the girl was wearing lululemon's. Old habits die hard I guess!

I took a lot of photos but my internet isn't working at the moment so I will post them ASAP. Heard that Edmonton has snow again...

Bowling and Flam's

2007-03-31T08:23:00.000-06:00

So! Bowling round 2 here in Lille and I finally remembered to bring my camera!
I uploaded the whole lot of pictures to my web album: http://picasaweb.google.com/leahskinner8
so don't forget to check them out!

It was a lot of fun! Quite a big group of us went and bowled two games - I ended up winning both games! I hope Kristy will be proud of me? Our lane kept breaking down so we had to move a couple times but it finally worked itself out. We played two games whick took a little longer than expected so we made it to the restaurant at about 11 pm and we. were. hungry. It is called Flam's and is all you can eat...I call it a challenge! They make flemish style pizzas with creme fraiche instead of tomato sauce and are very thin crust. I've eaten there once before - I may have written about it but I LOVE IT! Soooo good.

I went out a bit today (Saturday) because the weather was so nice. I found ranch dip !!!!!!! Hallelujah people. Don't take it for granted! Other than that I plan to study this afternoon and watch The Office with some people tonight.

I have a pretty exciting event coming up on Sunday as well - stay tuned!

french toast! in france!

2007-03-28T12:23:00.001-06:00

yes, i have fulfilled the ultimate goal of my life... i made and ate french toast in france this morning!

however, they don't call it french....toast.

actually, it's called "pain perdu" or "lost toast" which is totally more accurate because it's a really good use for stale bread.

plus, french bread goes stale in about 15 hours so i'm sure there is a lot of lost bread looking for it's place in the bread universe around here.

it was yummy. more than yummy in fact. c'etait delicieux!

french toast! in france!

2007-03-28T12:23:00.000-06:00

yes, i have fulfilled the ultimate goal of my life... i made and ate french toast in france this morning!

however, they don't call it french....toast.

actually, it's called "pain perdu" or "lost toast" which is totally more accurate because it's a really good use for stale bread.

plus, french bread goes stale in about 15 hours so i'm sure there is a lot of lost bread looking for it's place in the bread universe around here.

it was yummy. more than yummy in fact. c'etait delicieux!

wine, cheese, knitting?

2007-03-26T04:54:00.000-06:00

Another week is starting here in Lille... can you believe it's almost the end of March? In some ways it feels like the time has gone quickly but I'm still not very sad to see it go by.... in the meantime I will just have to enjoy myself! I'm going to Sephora today for a little spree - if you count shampoo and conditioner as luxuries! The weather is beautiful today so I am looking forward to the walk...

Friday night, we organized a wine and cheese party at our residence - it was very tasty and quite educational! We "learned" (read: consumed) quite a few different cheeses and wines from around France...and it took about four hours! My favorite new discovery is a cheese called "Pate de Flandres", I think it is a regional specialty. The wines were interesting too - I didn't like my choice too much but the others were good!

I also FINALLY finished my scarf this weekend as well as a necklace. The green bead is covered in fabric and I have had my eye on it for sometime. Does anyone other than me get excited over a bead? I don't know, but I love my new accessories! I learned to crochet last week as well so I am embarking on a new project - an iPod case for Jeremy. Hopefully it doesn't look too ugly! (Jeremy I warned you!)

I had an exam this morning so I also studied *a bit* this weekend - I thought it went pretty well. Two of my courses end next week, I can't believe it! I think April and May are going to be pretty slack months around here - I will have to amp up the knitting production!

A very weird day... Part II

2007-03-19T10:01:00.000-06:00

So! The snow finally let up and, since I desperatly need some breakfast food, I decided to go on a little jaunt to the grocery store. Which is closed on Mondays now apparently. Ah France....

Walking back, I notice that there are yellow weeds growing in the ditch...no wait....those are daffodils growing in the ditch!

I may not have anything to eat tomorrow morning, but I have something to smell!

This France is a crazy place sometimes!

Damn global warming!

2007-03-19T05:44:00.000-06:00

I DO NOT know what is going on with the weather today! This morning it was sunny, then it turned into a 2 hour SNOWSTORM.... then it went back to sunny, switched over to a 1 hour sleet downpour and now guess what? That stupid sun is shining again!

I guess it makes it easier to do my homework...

How's Edmonton?

St. Paddy's! ....in France?

2007-03-18T04:43:00.000-06:00

Exactly. St. Patrick's Day celebration in France? Does it not seem like an extremely odd combination? I thought so - but befriending a wonderful Irish girl named Laura made it not so! She invited us to a bar called Tir Na Nog which had a great St. P's party! The bartenders even spoke english - rare! Mmmmmm cherry beer and cider.... They had actually set out tents on the street to accomodate all the people and they kept giving away free stuff - I got a guiness t-shirt and glass! Laura had green face paint and hair clips which she shared with us... even Adam was sporting a lovely clip! I had such a great time - the best St. Paddy's ever I think! Sainte Patricke's in francais perhaps?

(Sorry I forgot my camera....)

2007-03-13T15:13:00.001-06:00

oops

Pizza = Workout

2007-03-13T15:13:00.000-06:00

tuesday night =

60 calf muscle exercises
120 sit-ups
80 core exercises
60 arm & leg muscle exercises
one crazy move where we are in plank position lifting our legs alternatly like a bazillion times....

and one delicious pizza from Pizza Show

priceless!

2007-03-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

Just had a great supper with the girls...I have to share the dessert recipe that Malika made for us tonight. It is an Algerian specialty (her heritage)!

Semolina with honey (dessert)
- 200g semolina (uncooked)
- 1 glass of honey
- 50g butter
- a few pinches of cinnamon powder

Brown the semolina (uncooked) with the butter then add the honey. Stir over a low heat and when the paste is compact, pour into small bowls and decorate with cinnamon powder.Eat warm or cold.

Seriously try it. Maybe add some vanilla ice cream? Do that part for me as it is something I am not getting here!

Au revoir!

PARIS (say it with a french accent) Winter Break Part "Deux"

2007-03-07T09:52:00.001-07:00

Thursday, March 1
Paris was like coming back home for us! I can’t believe I’m saying this but – it was really nice to speak French again! Not to mention that the weather was wonderful, it was a great way to end the trip! We checked in and headed out to explore the area (the hostel is on Montmartre Hill). It is so beautiful in that area, I am glad that we stayed up there to get the feel of it. We were just a few streets over from the Sacre-Coeur Basilica so we went in for a look, it’s so cool! There is a big painted Jesus angled down towards to congregation but it isn’t threatening in any way, just overwhelming! We went for the most expensive coffee of my life (actually, just Paris in general)! Next up was the Moulin Rouge…it’s like 200 euro just to go see the show! Obviously, we just took pictures from the outside! After a small nap, we did the student thing for dinner and got Lebanese pita sandwiches to eat outside on some steps. We headed down to the Champs-Elysees (big shopping street with all the lights, you always see it in movies [Devil Wears Prada anyone?]) and visited the Arc de Triomphe. We didn’t walk up it though, they want 5 euro for unwanted exercise! We met up with some of Malika’s friends who are living Paris like us and Katie, Adam and I cut out early to get some McDonald’s sundaes and some sleep. Bonne Nuit!

Friday, March 2
Friday morning Katie and I walked (for a LONG time) to a market in Bellevue. It was…interesting? The market was wonderful, if not slightly intimidating. We definitely found the cheaper area of Paris…I got a Vietnamese sub for 2 euro! However, I don’t think it is a typical tourist area. That being said, we felt like we earned our “visitor” status instead of typical tourists. I will totally be going back down there (Rue Faubourgh de Temple if anyone is interested) because there are great discount clothing stores down there. Ballet flats for 3 euro anyone? I didn’t buy any shoes but I did get a great chocolate brown faux-leather bomber jacket which I *love*. I guess you do get what you pay for because I already lost on of the buttons but that can be fixed. We met up with Adam and Malika to do some more shopping at H&M (it’s HUGE) and some stores in a slightly more upscale area. By this time it was pouring rain so we ducked into a Chinese restaurant for an early dinner. We stopped back into the hostel to change but ended hanging out with some people there from Canada and Australia for a couple hours. We were heading towards a jazz show that night but by the time we got there it was over so we returned and had some wine in the hostel bar.

Saturday, March 3
Today we decided to get down to tourist biznazz. We started off at the Paris catacombs, so amazingly sweet. During the 18th century, rampant disease was blamed on surrounding cemeteries so they exhumed all the bodies and put them in underground caverns under the city. Six million bodies later, it became quite the attraction! The bones are all placed in decorative patterns with skulls and whatnot, plaques indicate where they came from. It’s so anonymous and dark…very creepy. At Katie’s suggestion, our next stop was the Palais de Toyko, a modern art exhibit. It might have been my favourite activity of the whole trip? “Post Patman” by Michel Blazy is made entirely out of food…which is now rotting because the exhibit has been on for a while. I think it’s supposed to capture the ephemerality of art and life or something. Anyways, these birds have now made it their home, feeding on the giant Dr.Seuss-like tree made entirely out of neon yellow noodles. Getting the picture? Another exhibit profiled all the micro-nations of the world, small territories independent of any outside government. I noticed that about 1/6 of them were in Canada…maybe we are the kooky cousins to the north after all! There’s even a Summit of Micronations every year…who knew? It was called “Grow your Own” by Peter Coffin if you want to check it out. Last but not least was a backwards rendition of Black Sabbath played by a symphony…We met up with Malika’s friends again and headed to the Latin Quarter for an restaurant dinner (for once!) and settled on a Greek restaurant. I had a 3 course meal (Dolmas, Moussaka and Baklava) for 9 euro, not bad hey? We bought some sangria from the grocery store and partook of it on a park bench (it’s France ok?) BEFORE (Ok so this was my favourite activity of the trip) we stumbled on a wicked-awesome turn of events: ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, put on by the French Fan Club. It. Was. So. Hilarious. It was in English with French subtitles and the group acted out every scene in front. Our neighbours lended us some rice for the wedding scene so we were good to go! It was some of the best spontaneous fun I’ve had!!!

Sunday, March 4
Our last day of the trip! Our train wasn’t set to leave until 10 pm, so at least it was a full last day! Being the first Sunday of the month, all the museums were free but do you think we took advantage of it? No! We were SMARTED than that! We did stop by the Musee D’Orsay but the line-ups were out of control. However, the lines for Notre-Dame were non-existant because of this. So we ended up listening to the Sunday choir and enjoying the stained-glass sun inside the church. How smart are we? Feeling very leisurely, Katie, Adam and I hit up the Luxembourg gardens for some more sun. There is a lake in the middle and Greco-Roman statues decorated the manicured park. Katie wrote in her journal and I knit, and we all ate French bread and honey…*sigh* I wish I was still there! We went for a very North American lunch and I loved it more than life itself. Why doesn’t France normally have mozzarella and mushroom burgers with fries and coleslaw? WHY? Anyhoo, that couldn’t last forever so we settled for the Eiffel tower to watch the sunset. (Kidding people!) We could see a Louis Vuitton fashion show going on from up there…so cool! We ran down to the platform across the street to take some pictures from afar then caught the metro back to Montmartre. A quick stop for a chocolate crepe (we waited until the last minute!) and we left for the train station. I talked to mom and dad on the phone until it left and before I knew it, I was back in Lille!!

The End to a very amazing journey….

GRRRRR

2007-03-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

ARG! is all I have to say.
The washing machine malfunctioned, trapping my sheets and clothes inside at an extremely hot temperature for an extremely long time.
My whites are now blues.

And I am singing the blues!!
:(

BERLIN!! Winter Break Part I

2007-03-06T07:20:00.000-07:00

Well, it is Tuesday and POURING rain here in Lille...wow...am. I. ever. glad to be back! (seriously) As nice as it is to get away, it's also nice to be settled and have a home base again. It's also nice to get more than 5 hours of sleep a night! I'm going to post the trip in two parts, because I haven't finished writing the other half yet.

The pictures are all up though (WARNING! There are A LOT of them, 232 to be exact.): http://picasaweb.google.com/leahskinner8

Ok, Here we go:

Friday, February 23 / Saturday, February 24
Set off from Lille for Berlin on a 14-hour bus ride about 45 minutes later than anticipated. We thought that we had missed the bus! The bus was apparently coming from Russia, although our bus drivers spoke Polish…and nothing else. We therefore watched a crazy Polish movie with bad English subtitles and tried to sleep after that. After rolling in to Berlin at about 6 am, we found our hostel, David’s Cosy Little Backpacker’s Hostel, and chilled out until our free city tour at 1pm. Needless to say, we were tired! The tour was about 4.5 hours long and covered both East and West Berlin’s major monuments and history. It was really great because Berlin’s monuments are very tasteful and low-key, it’s easy to walk right over them and not notice! The site of the Nazi book burnings, for example, is commemorated with an underground library full of empty shelves, which is visible through a window placed into the ground. (I took a picture!) The Holocaust memorial is hundreds of coffin-sized rectangle concrete blocks of different heights in a square. It was very emotive. Interestingly enough, Hitler’s Bunker has no signs or mention at all. We “visited” the site on the tour, but it’s now a parking lot. Between the monarchy of Prussia, the Nazi’s and the Soviets, there is a lot of history in Berlin that I had no idea about! It was COLD though, so by the time the tour was over we were very happy to head back to the hostel to make dinner. They had a great kitchen so we made pasta and salad. So…after a long bus ride and a day full of activity, do you think we headed to bed early? NO! We went on a pub crawl put on by the tour guides…it was so worth it! We went to a swing club, a Russian bar, a bar in an old cellar and a “famous” Berlin dance club. The variety was awesome and I discovered my new favourite beer: Beck’s Lemon. Let’s just say we got in *late* (or very early the next day!)

Sunday, February 25
After such a late night, we definitely slept in on Sunday! We started off at a flea market in Tiergarten around noon – it is supposed to be the best one in Berlin…I was very successful! I bought a vintage navy snakeskin clutch with a gold chain handle and a gold crocodile on it. I bartered in English with a lady who only spoke German, it was interesting! Next up was some Starbucks (even though we didn’t buy any coffees!) where we made sandwiches with the groceries that we bought…totally a starving student moment. We then walked to an outdoor exhibit set up on the existing remnants of the Berlin wall called Topography of Terror. It focused on the trial of the remaining Nazi party after WW2 all the way up to the fall of the Wall. There is a lot of American influence around there as it is right next to Checkpoint Charlie, the famous American military base during the wars. We had a brownie and coffee break at the Adler Café, a historical building where spies used to congregate during the war to pass on messages and pick up information. Feeling quite touristy (and the fact that it was pouring rain) we went to the Checkpoint Charlie museum across the street, which was actually really cool! They had a lot of escape stories from people trying to cross from East to West Germany over the wall…one family made a hot air balloon out of their clothes! We met up with Adam after the museum and went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant we had seen the day before. It was soooo good – our server was Italian and, once he found out we were taking Italian at school (it’s one of the only sentences I know!) he wouldn’t let us order in anything but! So here we are speaking Italian while reading a German menu…I think I started speaking French at one point out of total confusion. We went to bed after dinner that night (although we didn’t finish until 10) on our amazing tatami mats. I think I might switch to the Japanese lifestyle!

Monday, February 26
Those beds were so comfortable we had another late start on Monday. This was fine because, yet again, it was raining. Our first stop was the Deutsche Guggenheim (free on Mondays) which was showing an Italian impressionism collection called “Arcadia & Anarchy.” While the French impressionists focused on nature, these works were more human-based, showing poor working conditions and lower-class families. We are so cultural haha! Down the street, there was a free photography exhibit at the Volkswagon dealership. Can you tell we are in Germany? The photos were all nature scenes and animal pictures in very “artistic” ways. I really liked them. Too bad Jeremy wasn’t there – cars and animals in the same place!! We went to Starbucks for lunch, and although we did make more sandwiches, we did buy coffee that time. We kind of split up for the afternoon, so while Malika and Adam went to see more sights, Katie and I went shopping in East Berlin. The area was very much like Whyte Ave, with independent boutiques and vintage stores. I ended up getting a locally-made dress and a second-hand jacket which Katie got some Birkenstocks. Being made in Germany, they are VERY cheap there! We met Malika at Zoo Garten (big train stop and shopping area) and made dinner at the hostel again: four cheese and spinach pasta. Not too shabby considering it cost less than 1 euro per person! That night we headed out to take some night pictures of the Brandenburg Gate and just walked around. I talked to mom on the phone that night before I hit the hay.

Tuesday, February 27
Katie and I got up super early on Tuesday to go the Reichstag, the German parliament building. There is a glass dome on top, which you can go up to for free and get a view of the whole city. The floor of it is also glass and looks down into their house of commons. Don’t wear a skirt to the Reichstag! We got some really great photos up there…and guess what was next? Coffee break at Dunkin’ Donuts! Germany is definitely more “westernized” than France, but I am NOT complaining! At 11 was our big concentration camp tour at Sachsenhausen. It was an hour train ride there and back, so we got to see some countryside on the way. The camp is in the town of Oranienburg, which pretty much sprung up during the camp’s use as a base for the SS officers. It’s a pretty cute little town now though! The tour was a great idea to visit the camp because we got a lot of stories and explanations about the life in the camp. Sachsenhausen was the very first concentration camp and served as a model for the rest. The conditions were horrible and many people died simply from the harsh lifestyle. They included a Jewish-specific memorial in some of the old barracks as they were treated the worst of all. It was really hard to hear all the stories but I think it’s important that they keep being shared so that history doesn’t repeat itself. We saw the gas chamber and body ovens, medical experiment labs and the prisons. Can you imagine 8 toilets for 4000 people? Although it was really really cold during the tour, I didn’t feel like I could complain! We grabbed some dinner on the way back…I had the famous Berlin currywurst: a curry bratwurst covered in curry ketchup (They sell Heinz curry ketchup in stores there!) We were going to go to a jazz club that night, but since they charged cover we went to an Irish pub and watched a football match and played games. Go Manchester United!

Wednesday, February 28
Today we all decided to split up for the day so we could get in the last few things we wanted to do. I started of at the Pergamon Museum, which houses the Ishtar Gates from Babylon. They are HUGE and imposing, bright blue tiles with life-sized lions prowl at head height. They also have an entire Greek temple inside and a crypt from Assyrian times. I really enjoyed it! Considering it was just me and myself that day, of course I went shopping! I bought a dress at Mango and tried on shoes in Berlin’s largest Skate shop. Van’s shoes are WAY cheaper in Edmonton! I ate a great little artsy café for lunch and had a bagel (impossible to find in France!), accidentally running into Malika, Adam and Jonathon who were walking by. Even in another country, you can’t stop seeing people you know! I did some more shopping (Adidas tack jacket baby!) and finished at KaDaWe, Berlin’s 7 story department store. It was very similar to Bloomindale’s in New York. I loved it! I met up with everyone at the hostel and we went to the bus station to get on another stinking bus to Paris. I know it’s the cheapest way to travel but *shudder* we sat by these really big German men who smelled like garlic sausage and onions. I did get a lot of knitting done and logged a couple hours of sleep. Katie got some really weird Banana milk at a gas station. Yep…it was really exciting!

More in Part Two…Coming Soon!

football, cheese and knitting...a perfect weekend!

2007-02-21T11:45:00.000-07:00

Lille Metropole Stadium...Go Lille! Before the Gala....

Marjorie, Malika and Me!

My internet is finally up and running! I feel like I'm housecleaning...sending off e-mails, updating pictures and the blog, it feels nice to be part of normal society once more!

The past week has been extremely busy, I have so many stories! I received my first package from home on February 15th (Thursday) which was a wonderful surprise! It was nice to get reminders of home (peanut butter!!!) and little notes of encouragement. Kleenex, neocitran...what more could a girl ask for?

That night was the Arts Faculty Gala so we all got dressed up and went to....drumroll....a second rate talent show!! Not what I had in mind from the word Gala...not to mention that all the "acts" sang English songs, it sounded as if they knew the words but not necessarily what the words meant! Red Hot Chili Peppers were butchered beyond words that night...but it was all part of the fun! Everything is certainly an experience here! We went out dancing afterwards which was a lot of fun...although I don't think I can dance in heels as often as some!

Friday night Raelene, Katie and I were fortunate to be invited to a Lille football match with a French student, Marjorie, her father, brother and her brother's girlfriend! WOW it rocked!! They are so passionate about the sport...I think they could give Oiler's fans a run for their money! Not to mention that they have dozens of football song and dances which the crowd sings non-stop....flags and confetti and scarfs...I want to go back soon!! Lille is 3rd in the European league and is playing Manchester United this week. We couldn't get tickets though, it was sold out a long time ago. We lost the game (we were playing the 1st place team) and I could literally feel the pain!!

Saturday night Katie, Malika and I and some other international students went to Marjorie's house for dinner. We had "Raclette," a French invention which involves mini pans, a small electic oven which sits on the table and various meats and cheeses and veggies to put in said pans. DELICIOUS is the only word that comes to mind...I love the French because of their love for cheese! After we were stuffed (Katie and I contributed Rice Krispie treats to the mix) we played the french version of Taboo boardgame, it was fun! We also played that game where you stick a famous person’s name to your forehead and try to guess it…except we HAD to speak French and the French people had to speak English! Good times!

Sunday was another successful knitting party…we made trifles with fresh market fruit and vanilla pudding…

This week I have just been trying to get ready for my big Berlin/Paris trip and doing homework to prepare for midterms. Wish me luck!

London Town

2007-02-16T06:32:00.000-07:00

***Disclaimer: Ok so I totally already wrote all of this then LOST it all sooooo I will try to be as enthousiastic but I am NOT promising anything; HAHA KIDDING***

Wow London....you are a lovely friend. I had such a great time there I cannot believe it! I don't know what I was expecting but it was certainly above and beyond that. We took the ferry over which was an experience in itself as I got to experience the English Channel first-hand and I saw the white cliffs of Dover. I was a little queasy needless to say!

Our bus driver got a little lost but we made it to London in good time and hopped on the tube to go buy theatre tickets in Leicester Square. (More on that later) A lot of movie premiers happen there and there is a giant move theatre on each corner which only features one movie at a time; We had a kick-ass lunch at an Indian restaurant - I think London is the best place to get Indian food outside of India. I got Chicken Tikka Masala and Naan Bread...I even took a picture! Oh and they have sweet, glorious Starbucks on every corner so we picked up a caramel macchiato for dessert!
Raelene, Malika (from Milwaukee), Kate (from North Carolina) and I headed over to the "Manet to Picasso" exhibit at the National Gallery in Trafalger Square. They did an excellent job of timelining the evolution of modern art and included pieces from Manet, Monet, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Seurat, Van Gogh and Picasso among others. I feel so cultured that I should be speaking in a British accent!
A stop at Topshop, a super sweet clothing store. I totally restrained myself and didn't buy anything...Are you proud of me? And we grabbed a bagel (!!!!!! they don't eat bagels ANY-FREAKING-WHERE in France) and yet another Starbucks nectar of the gods to wait for out theater show - STOMP -. Let me just say...I didn't realize how funny it was supposed to be! I was worht every penny of the halfprice ticket and more!!! They really involved the audience and made music out of everything including garbage cans and paper bags!!

The next morning we headed over the Westminster abbey for church and stopped at Big Ben on the way (tourist moment!) which was pretty cool. The service was SOOO PRETTY and the choir was great. It's amazing to sit there and think of all the history the place has to offer!
Next up was Hyde Park and a visit to Speaker's Corner...a Sunday morning exhibition where anyone can come and preach on a soapbox about anything...there was even a guy giving out free hugs!! Often, someone listening would start debating with the speaker...I guess everyone has an opinion. AND, a guy was there preaching on the same book that the minister at Westminster was preaching on...God is everywhere hey?
We stopped a a great little market and I picked up a bright yello handmade leather wallet with a hot pink picture of a ski lift with snowboarders on it...it reminded me of home!!! We were the last ones back at the bus because we needed to run and get Italian dictionaries for our test that Tuesday (it went well by the way!) But we made it and enjoyed the way home on the ferry. The second time around was very relaxing!!!

There is so luch more to say, but it was a great introduction to London and I am grateful for the experience...up next? Berlin and Paris!

SNOW!

2007-02-09T09:25:00.000-07:00

It snowed here! Well of course it melted within the hour....but for that hour I was transported back to the old life!! I hear that it is quite nippy back home...I can't say that I envy it!

I had such a good night last night! There was a party here at the residence in the kitchen. At 9:30 pm I was standing in a normal kitchen microwaving soup...and by 10:30 all the tables and chairs were gone, there was a dj set up on the counter and a disco ball had been installed! It was really fun to hang out with all the people I see passing by everyday!

I'm off to London tommorrow morning at 5:45 am (eek)! I'll check after my little getaway!

P.S. I went to Old Lille on Saturday and took some pictures...go check them out: http://picasaweb.google.com/leahskinner8

2007-02-07T10:10:00.001-07:00

did i mention that I MISS ALL OF YOU?

non parlo italiano!

2007-02-07T10:10:00.000-07:00

wow! so many good stories haha!
I am now a proud knitter, having bought the necessary tools and being proficient enough to decipher the hidden code of online learn-to-knit instructions! My scarf is about 8 inches in and looking crappy! I feel so domestic *sigh*
I also had my first french bowling experience and...guess what?! it's just like back home! Complete with weirdly stanky shoes and the day-glo decorations with optional black light...But this girl came in first place! I think the water here is agreeing with me...
So many firsts! I had my *first* crepes of the season last night at the university restaurant and they were d-e-licious. My dinner crepe was gruyere cheese, creme fraiche, ham and potatoes, and my dessert crepe was chocolate bananas and whipped cream! Are you drooling yet? Complete with beer and salad for a whopping 2,75 euro! I love this place!!
Oh...and then there was my first step class...let me just say that it was an experience. Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit..over and over and over again to THE MOST complicated step manoeuvres I have ever seen. If there was a step olympics, the proper execution of this routine would guarantee you the gold medal for the next 10 years. I mean! there were twirls and mambos and sashays and lightning-fast foot switches, cross-overs ON TOP of the step complete with hand flourishes and hip movements. Not that anyone could follow along of course...even the instructor had written instructions in hand to remember all the moves! I was sweating because of the heat of frustration in the room, not because of any intensive physical struggle!! Bodily harm, physical collisions and femur breakage to follow....no thanks! I think I will skip out on the step next time!

La Fin

p.s. I am going to London this weekend, YEAH!

2007-02-01T07:36:00.001-07:00

Hey!
I posted some pics of my teeny tiny room, go see!

2007-01-29T01:26:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!!

I just set up an online picture album so you can check out my trip to Brussels:

http://picasaweb.google.com/leahskinner8

There are comments posted on the pictures as well.

We had a really great trip....we ate waffles and drank beer, went shopping and checked out some art. The city had a great feel and I think we will be returning there soon! It looks like it's going to be a sunny day here in Lille, FINALLY! I have some major things to do this week, notably getting a living permit and a bank account. It's going to be busy!

I love and miss you all,

Leah

My first purchases...but I have done more damage since!

Last Weekend

2007-01-25T04:14:00.000-07:00

I realized that I hadn't shared with you my weekend adventures!!!
Thursday - There was a party held for the international students with 1 euro beers and lots of dancing...it was a great way to meet a lot of people from around here!!
Friday - We went out with some French girls and American international students to Flam's, a restaurant that makes these Flemish style thin crust pizzas which use creme fraiche instead of pizza sauce and which are all you can eat!! I'd say that we polished off about 35 between 15 people! I also had the BEST goat cheese and garlic toast salad of my life! MMMM I could definetly get used to the food here! Then we went to a salsa bar called Latina and danced the night away....
Saturday - A very rainy day which mostly consisted of hanging out and many laptop movies...
Sunday - Market day!! The best finds include a giant head of lettuce for 1 euro, six drinking glasses for 1 euro and a cream coloured pashmina scarf for 2 euro. I have my eye on a pair of brown patent leather flats that I'm going back for this weekend...AND by sunday night I was SICK yay.

.le fin. (i will try and get up some pics toute suite)

Post 2

2007-01-25T04:06:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Haven't had internet the past few days... I feel like I'm living in the stone age! But actually, it's quite an enjoyable stone age seeing as I officially have two semester breaks, totalling in three full weeks off school! I'm pretty excited to start planning trips and such.
In fact, I am off to Brussels for the weekend to hunt out waffles and beer and all the other stereotypical Belgium things I can think of to do! It's my first trip since arriving and I think it will be a lot of fun.
I also got super sick the past few days - I guess it was passed around res seeing that half the students spent the weekend in bed! I'm feeling better now - I just have a cough to deal with.
Anyways, I'm almost through my first week of school and let me say I LOVE IT. All my classes so far have been really interesting and the teachers are very receptive to international students. I'm finding that my level of French is a lot higher than I originally thought so I'm finding the classes easy to understand and I feel confident participating in them. Maybe except for the Italian class.... I have a lot of catching up to do there!

Ciao!

How do you say.....FRANCE!

2007-01-19T04:18:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

This is my first post in France although I've already been here for a week - let's just say that their internet situation is....interesting!!

I am settling in though and have classes starting monday including Italian, French, Mythology, Literature and some other things. From the sounds of it, they will be pretty easy (I guess internation students get breaks from the teachers a lot).

This was a majorly hard week for me, starting with the fact that we walked to our residence in the rain with all our luggage trying not to get lost!!! I was so tired the first day that I slept for about 14 hours. At that point all I could think was.... WHAT HAVE I DONE! I then proceeded to beg my parents to let me come home for the next four days. However, I have done some exploring of Lille and love the city a lot! It's a nice size with lots of activities but does not feel unsafe or hectic. I think I could get used to it!!

My room at residence is a tiny shoe-box but it's newly renovated and I have three huge windows. I also have my own fridge and a sink but no shower or toilets. From what I hear, that's normal? The international residence is certainly loud - all these different languages competing with themselves ahaha but I have met people from the US, Columbia, Turkey, Brazil, France, Canada you name it!!

The campus is a giant stone building that used to be a church, it's quite the sight! It's small but seems easy enough to get around, I'll let ya know!!

I also celebrated my 21st birthday going out for cheap pizza and wine with a few girls....it was not home but I had fun nonetheless.

Here are some pictures of Lille, I will post more when my internet connection is better!!!

I LOVE YOU ALL, MWAH!

CHAPS

2006-06-01T21:04:00.000-06:00

the picture's a little dark...but this man is wearing jeans and snow-chaps! that's right, i said snow-chaps. where you get these i don't know, but i just thought i'd share....

2006-05-28T15:06:00.000-06:00

umm yeah.... i thought you all just had to see this one for yourselves.

it is the world's largest ukranian sausage. i love alberta!

as a side note, we also visited the world's largest goose (which is not as big as you might think) and the world's largest mushrooms...i wonder what that town does for fun!

2006-05-25T09:29:00.000-06:00

so after a general review of another week I am still rockin #10 on my list (no wonder, it's the easiest and the most fun).
I also have started 3 craft projects so I guess I am working on that goal.
However, I bought a most fabulous dress yesterday so that officially knocks #9 off the list (buy no more clothes until Montreal). I will try to buy no more from here on out.

worth your time?

2006-05-25T09:15:00.000-06:00

how come everytime i get to here i have nothing to say?
i feel like everyone else's blogs are so original and exciting. i look at my life and think...what is there worthy of saying? like i said before, i really set this up for when i go to study abroad in france. since i'm not going until january i may have jumped the starting line a bit here. no matter - i guess it will have to chronicle my potentially last summer here EVER.
which i want to make the most of, by the way.

and so...for the may long weekend i:
friday: spent the night at charissa's drinking beer and watching hockey. we then had multiple hours of girl chat and a shared night in her parent's bed (which by the way is totally a sex bed - pink satin sheets, waterbed lol)
saturday: LAST MINUTE went with jeremy to kelly's lake to stay the night in a teeny tiny tent and drink even more beer
- this was WAY too much fun i might add, since i'm new and i knew nobody there i was the random drunk girl who could do her own thing without caring (this might be my new favourite pasttime)
sunday: dinner with the rents and jeremy, more hockey and some desperate housewives and a late night visit with a very sleepy jeremy YAY
monday: went swimming and out for lunch with charissa and nola FUN and then went to see the Da Vince Code with jeremy and his mom and my mom
(it was his idea - i'm still trying to find a flaw in him :) )

all in all, it was a very well-rounded weekend that was more low-key but still full of laughs and a lot of new people. i seem to have gotten good reviews from jeremy's friends so that's a plus.

i have to try not to rush my weeks so much because it is already the end of may and it feels like summer has not even begun yet.

here's to more fun!

ahh monday...

2006-05-15T14:57:00.000-06:00

the start of a new week. it's a shame because i was really enjoying last week!
-saturday was a-mazing...jeremy and i drove to banff and hit sunshine up for the day - the snow was awesome and it was not busy AT ALL. and yes, the pitcher of beer at lunch was good too haha. considering we left at 6 am and were on the hill by 9:30 am, we made super good time (i'm pretty sure j had the cruise control on at about 140 or so) but no worries because we are all still safe and sound!
-sunday was a good outdoorsy day, i definitely got my fresh air quota. and it was momma's day so we went out for a huge dinner at Bak Hauk - mmmm tempura shrimp in coconut sauce with peaches...
so ya! totally working on #10 on my summer to-do list....not much else though, i'm going to have to step it up

topic!

2006-05-11T09:11:00.000-06:00

when I told people about this, this resounding question came up repeatedly: what's the topic?
did i miss something? i was not aware i needed a specific topic to create a blog, and so i suddenly feel like i'm missing something. i guess 'life in general' isn't a topic. ha!

this will get much more interesting when i'm on foot and out in the world but i like to be prepared. i look at this as a preparation for something much greater (and hopefully better).

limits? never!

2006-05-10T09:58:00.000-06:00

my potential exploits for self-improvement this summer:
1) learn how to use this thing
2) taking sewing lessons
3) completing at least 4 craft projects (jeans reconstruction, tees reconstruction, item from vintage clothing pattern and laptop holder case)
4) Montreal
5) music festivals: warped tour, motion notion
6) learning to drive standard
7) go to New City
8) create a photo diary
8a) learn to upload pics on my computer
9) buy no more clothes until Montreal
9a) clean out closet of everything i haven't worn in the past 1.5 years and sell/donate
10) enjoy my new boy!!

2006-05-10T09:29:00.000-06:00

i really have no purpose....

hmm...what now?

2006-05-10T09:18:00.000-06:00

wow, posting on here is like an infinite abyss. the world is my potential oyster.
well i definetly jacked the name from my dad's old band - but really it's such a good name i can't let it rot in the unused name bin...