A little comic relief.

There's nothing more therapeutic than watching someone do the fish slapping dance. IT must be better actually dancing it yourself. Bet it does wonders for your skin. The slimier the fish, the better.


Signing off (with a tinge of blah),
Elise

Ok, this was a little weird.

I'm still a little aghast about what happened earlier today. The thing is, I didn't really know if he was who I thought he was, and to this moment I still don't. Ok, here's the story:

I'd been writing on my Spanish lit. exam all day and I'd gotten a text from a friend of mine to meet up with her and some other friends for lunch at 2pm. So there I went, happy-go-lucky on my way to the cafeteria to meet up with them, feeling quite content with breathing fresh air again instead of the stuffy one inside my flat. It was raining slightly on my way there, so I'd brought my umbrella. Once I got to the end of the street where I could see my faculty building, suddenly this guy appears coming towards me. He basically wore dark clothes and had a black bag with him, probably on his way to the gym just nearby. He also wore a navy blue hooded sweater and had the hood covering his head because of the rain (go figure). But what caught my attention was the face I could distinguish from underneath it. The thing is, he kinda looked like the Crown Prince.

I looked at him, he looked at me and I thought to myself: "No, it can't possibly be him, can it?" and averted my eyes so that I wouldn't give the impression of staring unnecessarily at him. Still, as I was just about to pass him, I stole a glance at him yet again and I noticed that he was still looking at me. At that point, one word sounded in my mind: "Awkward..." I averted my eyes yet again and quickly passed him by.

At that point I thought: "Was it really him? Nah, it couldn't have. I mean, we're talking about "Krompen" here! (Mind you, that was the first name that came to mind at that time.) Why in the world would he work out at a place filled with students? And there of all places?! How random is that! I mean, seriously, the Royal Family must have some sort of gym to themselves, right? One would expect them to not have to mix and mingle with us commoners? The NRK weatherman is understandable, but HIM? Nah, that's impossible. Or is it? I mean, he did have the beard and facial features all going for him."

I turned around to see if I could still see him from where I was, but he'd already walked too far for me to check. Besides, to walk back, tap his shoulder and ask him in Jærsk: "Du, åm du verkele æ Krompen?" would not exactly be the way to go, would it? I mean, if he really was, I'd really be making quite a spectacle of myself. (His name still didn't manage to enter into my consciousness at that time either.) And besides, I would be too gobsmacked to say anything sensible anyway.

So I just stored that at the back of my head and continued with the scheduled lunch.

So yeah, needless to say, that was nothing short of strange. I mean, I sorta' knew that the Crown Prince goes incognito, but if it were him, it was still puzzling as to why he would work out there, of all places. I mean, he's not exactly a student anymore, now is he? At least I'd expect him to work out somewhere else, like SATS or Elixia or the likes. That sounded more like him, for some reason. But THERE?! Anyway - alas, alack - the answer to my question will never be answered. Hence, the identity of this guy will remain a mystery forever.

Unless I spend my time at the gym 24/7 for the next couple of months.


Signing off (puzzled),
Elise

I've got a song stuck in my head.

Recently I've "discovered" the talent prodigy of one of the most genious musicians of all time, Julian Lennon. And you might guess who his father is. You can notice that there's definitely a substantial amount of his father's genes that have been passed on to him.

I just adore this song. The musical quality and the lyrics are just mind-blowing. I love the use of strings and the guitar riff (which is coincidentally (?) reminiscent of those by George Harrison). Just makes the song sound... full. Complete, in a sense. Just has that flavor to it that seems as if it's bombarding you with sound from all directions. And in perfect harmony. Awesome. The vid to it is fitting, but the song in itself is what stands out to me. Just downright beautiful. So turn the volume up to the max, click "play", sit back and enjoy.



Needless to say, he has that Lennony flavor to his voice, though he definitely has his own style as well when you listen to some of his other songs. A little bit more mainstream than his half-brother Sean (who has chosen a more borderline-experimental-Tim Burton/Danny Elfman-esque style - at least judging by the one song I've heard from him), but still very catchy. Have a listen to "Dead Meat" and you'll know what I mean.

Apparently Julian is going to release another album soon after having had an endlessly long hiatus, and based on this song (and others by him) I'm seriously considering buying it. Or maybe just go for his VH1 collection first. Hm. We'll see.

Meanwhile, I have hardly done anything today besides working out and doing my translation assignment for tomorrow. I just haven't really had the energy for some reason. And they say working out is supposed to give you more energy. Bah. Poppycock. (Which is one of the stranger words in the English language, mind you. You might imagine why...)

Anywho, enough chitchat and nonsense from my part. I should get some things done before it's too late. Not sure if I wanna.


Signing off (blahly),
Elise

I just HAVE TO share this with you guys!

Just stumbled over this hilarious vid of a panda baby sneezing.



Awright. Back to the books again.


Signing off (roflingly),
Elise

Birthday.

Ok. My brain says it's breaktime. According to the scent coming from the vent, someone's frying sausages or something like that. I'm not hungry, as I've already filled my stomach with Chinese green tea. That variety is kinda interesting, really. It has a sort of faint smell of seaweed. Not really a flavor you associate with tea, but still tastes good. I've got the song O Fortuna in my head these past few hours, and considering the hectic schedule I've had lately, I can definitely see a connection between these two...

So anyway, as I had a little get-together with a handful of my friends yesterday (I'll have another one with my family tomorrow), I didn't feel any guilt in studying today. Besides, I don't have that much time left for my 3 upcoming deadlines.

Hokai. Here goes. I've got my final Translation hand-in on Tuesday. I'm virtually done with it now, so it's just a matter of touching up the word count and sending it to the professor. One thorn taken away from my side. Now two to go.

I've got an exam-qualifying test on Wednesday in Hispan.Lit. (*shivers*) which I've been studying for all day. I also need to get a few things on the clear about that test, and as the professor told us we could email him if we did have any questions, of course I did last Thursday. He hasn't answered yet, so I figure I'm gonna go to his office on Monday to get everything straight. Mind you, strangely enough I had that same problem in handing in the manuscript for me and a classmate's oral presentation in that same subject. We'd emailed it to him as requested, but it appears that he hasn't received it. I have no clue what's going on, as for many of the other students, they haven't had that same problem. We'd used two different email addresses, and still he hasn't received it.

Note to self: Bring memory stick on Monday.

And then there's an essay in Spanish Pragmatics that I have to hand in the following Monday. And as the topic is relatively broad and we have to make our own investigation, I have no clue where to start seeing as I have so many other things to juggle at the same time. Agay (as in the Filipino word for "ouch"). I've got time, though, and technically speaking I don't have to hand in a complete one, as I'll have enough time to run through all of my assignments for the final hand-in on June 3rd. And then there's exam reviewing - my first 2 exams will start exactly one month from now and I really should start like RIGHT NOW... Oh well.

Sorry about this ranting, I just had to let it out. Things have been really hectic lately, resulting in me neglecting many of my friends. My deepest, sincerest apologies, but this semester is one of those ones where you just plunge into it and not really getting much of a chance to get to the surface to get some air.

Anywho, for all the birthday wishes I've already received, thank you so much - you guys really made my day! :-D Just some bright spots on my cell phone and on fb (metaphorically speaking, obv.) sort of scattered all throughout the day and evening out the dreary business of studying. I really, really appreciate it!

My, aren't we speaking in metaphors today, btw? ;-) I always get like this when I've spent a whole day studying. And this day has gone by so fast, it's almost scary!

So yeah. Awesome. Just feels like any other day, really. I woke up this morning thinking about all the things I was going to do to today and about 2 minutes later I finally remember it's my birthday. It's never taken this long before. Just goes to show how busy I am these days, I guess. But although I'm busy, I really enjoy the stuff I'm doing. I mean, I can sit here trying to sort through my texts of Don Quijote and not realize I've spent 3 hours already. Of course it depends really on how much you get to read in that period of time. If we're talking about 3-4 chapters including a few small breaks inbetween, that's good. If we're talking about one sole chapter - not as good.

Anywho, my nerdy self is definitely shining through in this post. Yarr. Besides, I'm getting tired of sitting here. My butt's getting sore now. Time to stretch and get away from this stuff, as I get a clear "NO MORE!" from my brain. And said butt.

And to top this post off, here's a clip from one of my all-time favorite comedians, Craig Ferguson. Host of the Late Late Show - and he's SCOTTISH!!! For those who know my fascination for Scottish accents (yes, there's more than one!), this should come as no surprise. He's officially American now, though. But he still has that pizzazz to him that some American comedians lack. That little Monty-Python-esque, random-y touch that I love so dearly. Anyway, here he is. This is a somewhat long clip (about 7 mins, I think), but to me it's well worth watching!





Signing off (contently),
Elise