I moved into Gramma's place in Flushing today. Now I'm all alone. Living alone sucks... Marlen, get that job quick so we can find a place!
Otherwise, nice things. No more naggy mom, which is nice. And public transportation and dance classes abound. I can't wait to take my first dance class since May...
O yes, and of course, the mandatory countdown. 13 days!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Never Never
Tonight, my parents invited my uncle and his family over. Overall a nice evening with my second-cousins which I haven't seen in a while. Now that Angie is older, she's more interesting to talk to, and it was nice to chat with Yogi, who, for the most part, is elusive. We had a barbecue and then watched "I Am Legend" and "V for Vendetta."
My granduncle was also present. He's 83 and in the past couple years, he's gone from a somewhat grumpy, very sharp minded big man to a spare, very jolly and absentminded one. Apparently, he's in the early stages of Alzheimers. I saw him once before going to Europe so I was prepared for the fact that he wouldn't remember me, and, in fact, would need reminding every half hour. After a whole evening, we got into a little routine.
"Who's this lovely young lady?"
"O, I'm Ruby's daughter, the second one."
"O, that's lovely. Did you know you're the spitting image of your grandmother? Your mother's mother?"
"Um, actually, I look a lot like my dad, see?" [stands next to dad who smiles as I gesture from face to face]
"O, no, you look just like your grandmother. She was beautiful, do you know what she looks like?"
"No, we don't have any photos."
"O, all right"
At which point he switches to Taiwanese, I get wide-eyed, and walk about when Mom answers him. Then, the next time he sees me, he goes, "O, who is this lovely young lady?" Rinse and repeat.
One time he managed to retain the memory of me long enough to ask if there were hordes of boys chasing after me, to which I replied, "No, I'm too mean." And then another time he said I should be careful out in the big world because I'm so pretty.
Dad and I decided that he had a huge crush on his sister-in-law. Tee-hee!
My granduncle was also present. He's 83 and in the past couple years, he's gone from a somewhat grumpy, very sharp minded big man to a spare, very jolly and absentminded one. Apparently, he's in the early stages of Alzheimers. I saw him once before going to Europe so I was prepared for the fact that he wouldn't remember me, and, in fact, would need reminding every half hour. After a whole evening, we got into a little routine.
"Who's this lovely young lady?"
"O, I'm Ruby's daughter, the second one."
"O, that's lovely. Did you know you're the spitting image of your grandmother? Your mother's mother?"
"Um, actually, I look a lot like my dad, see?" [stands next to dad who smiles as I gesture from face to face]
"O, no, you look just like your grandmother. She was beautiful, do you know what she looks like?"
"No, we don't have any photos."
"O, all right"
At which point he switches to Taiwanese, I get wide-eyed, and walk about when Mom answers him. Then, the next time he sees me, he goes, "O, who is this lovely young lady?" Rinse and repeat.
One time he managed to retain the memory of me long enough to ask if there were hordes of boys chasing after me, to which I replied, "No, I'm too mean." And then another time he said I should be careful out in the big world because I'm so pretty.
Dad and I decided that he had a huge crush on his sister-in-law. Tee-hee!
Friday, June 06, 2008
Au Revoir, Paris!
It was a whole week that just flew by, I can't believe how quickly. About 5 days ago, I got a bit of food poisoning while eating some unwashed strawberries. Stupid me. Either way, the people at the pharmacy gave me something that I was very dubious about, but it ended up working in just one dose. I'm on the road to recovery, but my tummy is still quite tender. I can't seem to eat more than just a tiny bit at a time. Ah, well, at least I'm going to come home a little lighter rather than heavier.
I met a whole bunch of great people along the way at the hostel, and we all traded ideas about where would be good to go. I ended up going to the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, l'Orangerie, le Musee Picasso, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, er....Galerie Lafayette, etc. I can't remember what else I went to, because I did a lot of walking (though far less after I ate those darned strawberries). Best meal I had there was the one on my second day in Montmartre at La Vrai Paris. Second best was the self -serve cafe in Galerie Lafayette. That's some fancy food there, and I would calculate that I had it all at about half the price it would be at a cafe because it was self-serve. But yes, Paris is lovely, I'm going to have to come back one day and make sure I wash all the fruit before I eat it.
On to Copenhagen and Morten!
I met a whole bunch of great people along the way at the hostel, and we all traded ideas about where would be good to go. I ended up going to the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, l'Orangerie, le Musee Picasso, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, er....Galerie Lafayette, etc. I can't remember what else I went to, because I did a lot of walking (though far less after I ate those darned strawberries). Best meal I had there was the one on my second day in Montmartre at La Vrai Paris. Second best was the self -serve cafe in Galerie Lafayette. That's some fancy food there, and I would calculate that I had it all at about half the price it would be at a cafe because it was self-serve. But yes, Paris is lovely, I'm going to have to come back one day and make sure I wash all the fruit before I eat it.
On to Copenhagen and Morten!
Monday, June 02, 2008
Bonjour from Paris!
Bonjour! J'aime la vie a Paris! Well, mostly it's been a lot of walking, some glorious old buildings and delicious food. Uh...well, when I can afford it. People weren't kidding when they said that France was expensive, and more so now that the dollar is so weak. So far I've been mostly just assembling tasty little picnics of baguette, strawberries, salami and milk, or a Pizza and whatever tasty morsels I find along the way. I must say, egg on the pizza, quite tasty. So far I've only had one real meal - a goat cheese salad and a limonade. Tres delicieux!
[this spot is for the picture of the meal, when I get to a computer with a working USB drive...]
So far I've been all over Montmartre, the Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Grand Palais, the Deportation Memorial...more places...I'm going to the Orangerie with Sarah, one of the girls I met at the hostel, today at noon. Should be good. I like the hostel, everyone staying there seems to be really interested in travel and are very willing to make new friends. Still, I'm looking forward to Copenhagen and Berlin where I can just leave my stuff out instead of having to take all my stuff to the showers in a bag and live out of a suitcase. Really tiring after a while...
[this spot is for the picture of the meal, when I get to a computer with a working USB drive...]
So far I've been all over Montmartre, the Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Grand Palais, the Deportation Memorial...more places...I'm going to the Orangerie with Sarah, one of the girls I met at the hostel, today at noon. Should be good. I like the hostel, everyone staying there seems to be really interested in travel and are very willing to make new friends. Still, I'm looking forward to Copenhagen and Berlin where I can just leave my stuff out instead of having to take all my stuff to the showers in a bag and live out of a suitcase. Really tiring after a while...
