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| my maudlin careerIt just hit me. Graduation is a week and a half a way. My apartment is covered in boxes. I'm really leaving.
Just me, my cats, my boxes and some pictures of Zac Efron. The angst is too much for my more public blog. I'm glad I hadn't completely destroyed my little xanga safety blanket. Why do I always think I'm brave enough to venture into the wild unknown all by myself? Have I learned anything over the last four years or will I be an infamous screw-up like my old surgery EC chief? Will I ever find my partner in crime? Or will all my relationships be bruised beyond repair? Shit, I was even excited about the Camera Obscura show in June, but now I'm not sure if my intern year will have started early. Tracyanne is singing my life soundtrack. | | |
| double-posting with my new blog Despite my mom's high-speed internet connection (an anomaly for a European vacay) I managed not to blog at all for the 12 days I was over there. Sorry! Pictures are worth a thousand words anyway. see Facebook for in depth coverage.
The trip was one of the lowest-key adventures I've ever *not* planned. My only goal was to eat and drink my way through Europe, and keep my friends entertained enough that Mommy wouldn't kick us out of the house. Success on both accounts! Though at times it was a culinary linguistics challenge, shrugging and mumbling some form of "vegetarisch?"
Our Dutch staples were:
broodje - baguette sandwiches
kaas tosti - grilled cheese
stroopwafel - my waffle sandwich cookie obsession
pannekoeken - pancake!
met rozijn - with raisen
met kaas - with cheese
met appel/kaneel - with apple/cinnamon
met spek - ew. bacon
wijn - wine (Huiswijn wit, alstublieft.)
heineken - duh
We also popped over to Belgium for some:
moules/mussellen - Tina had to have her mussels in Brussels
friets - sans disgusting mayo sauce
wafels - crunchy heaven
a thousand chocolate samples from the chocolat museum
kriek - cherry flavored beer
And the last-minute weekend in Germany I tried:
grüne soße - Frankfurt specialty green sauce (very herby and creamy, supposedly Goethe's favorite meal) with potatos or schnitzel
apfelwein - a sour kind of apple cider, +/- sparkling water or fanta mixed in
brezel - best pretzel of my life from a little stand in the train station
Our late dinner in Bruxelles/Brussels almost spoiled the whole thing because, in true European style it was 3 courses and lasted forever! [According to the guidebooks Amsterdam has the worst service in Europe]. By the time we got home it was the last train and my mom was in hyper-freakout mode ready to call the police. Luckily she realized without a cell phone there was no way to be forewarn her and we know how to get around on trams and taxis, even if she didn't think it was "a very grownup thing to do".
It's funny that my med school friends had never met her, because she was both her charming ("it's five o' clock and it's Friday... who wants a rum drink?") and ridiculous ("we need to be on the first tram at 6:20a to catch the first train and bus to beat the crowds") self. She had them all biking to dinner or the stores, which (no offense) was a little like dropping them in the deep end of the swimming pool. You have to navigate trams and cars and traffic circles and I'm still not even sure who has the right of way. I mostly just screamed obscenities when I'd have to stop the bike because it was slightly too tall for me and would slam and hit me in the pelvic region. Not to mention the wild zig zags everytime I tried to start again.
I felt very disconnected from my life while I was away... all that mattered was making each day count. This time was less about typical museums or hostel hookups. Castles and churches are nice, but this was a chance to connect with friends who I've admired but never spent much time with. Even the dinners with my mom were much more relaxed and conversational than our usual "cat did this" fare. There is a lot to be said for the European way of living. Less TV, less time on the internet, less consumerism, more walks in parks, fresh food with friends and family, conversations, trains, and of course wine. I forgot that I had a cell phone, had to borrow a watch.
Some things are harder. Everything is miniature scale so forget making a large pizza in the oven or washing more than sheet set at a time. Pharmacies are never open it seems (though I was there for the Easter holidays) and grocery stores don't carry over-the-counter allergy medications for the tulip-sensitive. (actually the cherry blossoms were big trouble). Trains and trams can have wrecks too, which really screws up your morning when you're trying to get to the airport. If you don't speak the language, you do feel a little helpless... but I put in a good "bedankt" or "dank u wel" after every lame English request.
I know I've said it before, but their toilets are a little strange. You basically have to be comfortable with your bowel movements because they are up close and personal. Which is fine until you share a house with four girls and are eating only cheese on a lactose-limited intestine. Ha.
blind with jet-lag | | |
| Dead and GoneOff to the Netherlands for the next two weeks. In the mean time I'm seriously considering leaving xanga, though it's been my security blanket for the last four years. Or at least friendslocking it once I've personalized my blospot. Check it out! Super sterile right now, but I want a new blog for my new perspective on life. Old drama belongs in the past. | | |
| sloshing aroundSurprise! My new city is cold and wet. April showers. No leaves or flowers. And I wandered around all day with cold wet feet before I realized there was a hole in my shoe. Goodbye plastic white adidas mary janes which I not so ceremoniously dumped in the hotel room trash can. I bought you in Vegas so clearly you were not meant for inclement weather. The first day of house hunting was depressing. I got lost in a seedy part of town and had to nurse coffees just to stay inside and warm up. And the town seemed less walkable than I remembered... or at least I finally admitted I won't be hardcore biking to work on wet miserable days. On the plus side I found a Cuban restaurant to take my mom for mojitos. Pathetic how I am continually unprepared for the elements. Note to self, sweaters are NOT waterproof or wind-resistant. Get over your fear of raincoats. Day 2 - much better because I carried an umbrella. I found an LB apartment complex equivalent near the mega-mall (as a backup) and some cute old houses I can already see myself repainting. (pictures soon!) There are so many adorable neighborhoods stacked with giant pastel multi-family houses and tiny first floor tattoo shops and cafes. A tiny bakery and a Whole Foods within walking distance? (apparently they don't do regular chain grocery stores here). And now I know the street to aim for to signify I've "made it" - Blackstone Blvd - basically a street of West U-esque McMansions along a greenbelt median, but classier and "historic". I don't know anything about buying a house; I must sound so stupid. My dad is coming in tonight to add some authority to my offers, but this is going to be all me - my own mortgage, my own debt. Frightening really. My first job AND my first home? What if something happens? What if I can't sell it later? Can I really make a decision like this in 4 days? Unfortunately my haphazard combination of craigslist, hotpads and phone calls to random realtors has gotten me in a hot mess. Apparently realtors don't take kind to sharing. And they want you to know exactly which place you're calling about. I thought I had to contact each number and make appointments separately to see each unit, but now agents think I'm playing them against each other. It even became a phone-showdown today with the two loft guys vying for my business... in the end I went for the nicer-sounding one. It's going to take me a while to get used to how rough these accents sound. I don't like getting yelled at for not understanding the phrase "inground pool" or knowing that it even gets warm enough to swim in the summer. At least I'm happy with my choice to go here again. P.S. Umm... I didn't realize how many different kinds of taxes there were. Yikes. | | |
| worthless junkAfter my failed attempt at a flea market I ended up dumping a lot of my old crap on Monday before I could think about putting it back in my closet. I finally admitted those tiny middle school plaid jumpers are neither appropriate for work or going out at this age. Unless there's a costume party. Though I think my costuming days are finally coming to end; nothing can top our High School Musical ensemble (unless we learn dance moves next time). 
Sifting through piles of novelty belts, too-short shirts and skirts (damn '90s!), VHS's, and unused stocker stuffers yielded: $ 23.00 from Buffalo Exchange --> Doesn't even begin to cover that new leather jacket d'oh!
$ 20.00 from Half Price Books --> subtract $7 for Personal Finance for Dummies
$ 46.84 from my coin bank! Pennies and Quarters really add up! My apartment only looks MORE cluttered now and the threat of moving is wearing me out. This scavenger hunt around town to get forms signed and stamped is a lot less exciting than one would imagine. Isn't it someone's job to make sure my diploma/vaccinations/permanent files get to my new residency program? Why are all these things kept in different buildings anyway? Tomorrow I fly up to my new city to stalk around the various neighborhoods and pick up "vibes" before my dad comes to stare down potential landlords and sellers. Fun! The past few days I've taken a crash course in real estate investment and loans, since I've been horribly sheltered from financial responsibility for most of my life. Buying a house/condo is a terrifying prospect. So much pressure to make the "right" decision. And yet, I'd still rather just buy a random place than have to move again once residency starts. I won't have more than a day a week to think about packing, much less house-hunting. But will I have time to shovel my own driveway? Or deal with a broken heater? Last night I had a nightmare about rats. My cats didn't know what to do with them. Useless. | | |
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