Most college students studying abroad start blogs so that they can keep in touch with friends, journal their travels, and remember the details of their experience.
Around four months ago, right after I turned in my abroad application, I decided that I wouldn’t blog when I was abroad. Despite my sister being a professional blogger (hi Melissa!) and my participation here, I knew I wouldn’t always have enough time, energy, motivation, and wit to write in a blog daily. I couldn’t and I wouldn’t. When my friends set-up their new virtual homes, picked original URLs and publishing platforms, I steadfastly stuck to my decision.
After approximately 7 days in Spain, I’ve decided that a blog is necessary to let others know what I’ve been up to and what I’m planning on doing (by others I mean, my mom, my dad, my sister, my brother (he doesn’t read so he’s not actually included), Bari, and any of you). Therefore, I will try to update this series as much as possible. *Disclaimer: Please don’t be surprised if my blog is just a compilation of all my other Seville-traveling friends’ blogs.
Until next time…here’s a quick recap of the past 7 days:
My host mom is named Fatima (Fatty).
Like the US, there is a Starbucks on every corner.
The city is dead during siesta (2-5).
I know that’s not very interesting, but that’s all I can write for now. I’m overexhausted from the amount of walking I do daily and I must nurse my feet back to health.
If you haven’t realized by now, you are not welcome in the student gym, the undergraduate libraries, or anywhere else on campus that I could possibly run into you.
When I go to the gym, the last person I want to see climbing the Stairmaster next to me is you. In fact, when I leave your class, I don’t want to see you until our next class together.
You should probably know (and spread the word to your other grad student friends, will you?) that hanging out at undergraduate spots is not okay. We don’t want you there.
Go home, write your thesis, and leave the undergrads alone (this means, don’t wave to me when we are passing each other on the street. I don’t want people to think I’m friends with a greying, sweater-wearing, messenger-bag-carrying, thesis-writing loser). I have a life.
Thanks,
Undergrad
P.S. Will you write my letter of recommendation for grad school?
Throughout life, people have to make a variety of tough decisions.
Grad school or 9-5?
Children or pets?
Shower curtain or glass door?
Think about it.
Choosing between a shower curtain and a glass door isn’t as easy as it seems. Sure, there are functional benefits to a glass door – water doesn’t leak as much, the floor doesn’t get wet, and you can write your name on the wall when the doors steam up. But….how can someone just say no to a cute shower curtain with rubber duckys on it? It’s quite impossible. But, I guess that’s the challenge we face each day – function or beauty? Writing your name in steam or duckys.
Then I got to thinking – why can’t we invent a glass door that has a shower curtain?!
That way you are guarded from bathroom dwellers…unless you’re showering with them.
You get to write notes…that disappear after a few moments.
And, you can accessorize with cute animals!
It’s time for function to meet beauty head on. Nothing could be better.
Many people know that popular, yet cliche saying, “don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” In most cases, I live my life by this saying. If I see a boy who might not be my cup of tea, I still give him a chance. Maybe he’ll win me over with his charisma and charm? Maybe he’ll be a billionaire? Maybe he’s a famous soap opera actor? (You never know….).
Though, I can’t say that I’ve always lived my life this way. When I was younger, I used to judge everything. Books with ugly covers never got read, fruits with ugly skins got thrown away, and scary, barking dogs were avoided at all costs. Then, my brother got a pitbull and she moved into my house. I guess this was the point when I started following that cliché motto.
Her name is Bella. For those of you who live under a rock (or just don’t have common Italian knowledge), Bella means beautiful. Now, I don’t think Bella is beautiful. I think she is the most adorable living specimen on Earth. Like, the type of adorable that draws you in and you just can’t pull your eyes away.
However, it takes about 5 minutes to realize that despite her cute puppy-dog eyes, Bella has inherited the aggressive/mean/scary/killer/biting gene from her long-lost ancestors. This means, when Bella and I play with one of her toys – I hold onto it and she tries to pull it from my hand – I fall onto the ground and get scratched. When I try to get up, Bella jumps on top of me, only to continue to rip the chew toy out of my hand. Finally, when I get to my feet, I scream “down, Bella!” and she listens. She looks at me with those puppy-dog eyes and I forget about my bleeding leg, my hurt toe, or the fact that she won the battle over the chew toy.
Now, I know these stories don’t really persuade you to change your opinion about the vicious Pitbull. I know it takes more than puppy-dog eyes to persuade most people (I’m so weak!). So, I say one thing – play with a pitbull. Give them a chance. You may find that you love them so much that you’ll want to buy one. And, if you already have a dog and you’re scared that the Pitbull might, let’s say, eat it, know this: a small, white, bichon frise survived in house-o’-pitbull for 11 months. Now you have no excuses!
Most people who know me think that I “watch TV that lowers [my] IQ.” (Yes, that was a quotation.) While this statement is both upsetting and insulting, I would have to agree.
Each night, after a long day of work (read: unpaid internship) and a strenuous work out at the local gym, I shower, eat dinner, and curl up on the couch. I click on the TV and scroll through the channels, hoping that I’ll find a program that will keep me occupied until bed time – CSI (nah, too much thinking), Top Chef Masters (no, that will make me hungry), Intervention (I’m not in the mood to cry), Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood (ahhh, perfect). I begin to watch.
“On this episode of Tori and Dean, Tori, a new mother of two – Liam and Stella – throws a huge 1st birthday party for her daughter Stella….”
While I can’t wait to see the drama that unfolds, my mother and sister who sit with me on the couch roll their eyes and stick their noses up in the air in a I’m-so-much-more-mature-than-you-I-only-watch-the-news-and-programs-that-make-you-think kind of way. I disregard their reactions and continue to watch Tori plan the party. She’s really good at party planning – something you know, if you’re someone like me.
It takes about 7 minutes before my mother asks, “who is that?” which means she’s been watching. I answer the question, smirk to myself, and continue to watch this episode and another. (You know the one when Dean comes home with a brand-new tattoo before the Guncles – gay uncles – get married. How cute?!)
Then, about 30 minutes into the second episode, I look up and see my sister: eyes glued to the television. I mean, seriously, how can she resist Tori’s adorable personality?
It took me almost 15 hours of sleeping/dreaming/thinking to realize that mom and sister owed me a huge apology. They yucked my yum (I was a camp counselor for three summers), and THEN they couldn’t keep their eyes off of Tori and Dean. It’s people like them who make the Nielsen ratings inaccurate….
Anyway, my point is this: don’t yuck other people’s yums. You never know if you’re going to love a show that just might lower your IQ. You never know if the yum you just yucked is going to become your new yum. And, may I add, be [non]pretentious when evaluating other’s viewing habits.
So, don’t be shy – list your guilty pleasure viewing programs. I’ll start. Don’t be embarrassed!
Every young girl remembers their first love. For me, his name was Dan and we met in the preschool playground. It was true love – he shared his chicken fingers with me at lunch and always requested to sleep next to me during nap time. It seemed like I had found the man of my dreams. Then, reality hit: First grade. I was going to one elementary school and he was going to another, and we knew that although our love was strong enough to survive the long distance, we needed to branch out and meet new people. It was a hard decision to make, but Dan and I were just looking out for each other’s best interests.
After Dan and I separated, I never thought I could love again. But one day….”Boy Meets World” became a part of my after school routine. Every day after school, I would come home, eat a pickle, and sit in front of the TV and watch two episodes of “Boy Meets World.” While most of you probably watched “Boy Meets World” because of the intense romance between Corey and Topanga, I was focused on something, er, someone, else…..someone that made my heart yearn the same way it used to yearn for Dan: Shawn Rogers. Now, I know Shawn doesn’t have the best reputation – he’s a ladies man who has that bad boy thing going for him – but he took my television boyfriend virginity, and for that reason, he will forever have a place in my heart.
Now, I know some of you are like “TV boyfriend? What is that?” You might be thinking – “tough love is such a fool for loving these boys.” But let me tell you, I’m not alone – each woman (and man, TV girlfriends exist too!) has a TV boyfriend, whether they only watch Jeopardy! (Alex Trebek is shmokin), or if they have a variety of shows they are addicted to. Either way, TV boyfriends/girlfriends are serious. Think about it – our entire lives we are taught “chicks over dicks,” “bros before hos” – so, when we are faced with a tough decision (boyfriend/girlfriend or friends), we choose the latter because that’s what the right decision is. But shouldn’t that rule come into play with TV boyfriends/girlfriends? I mean, think about it, how many times have you “not felt like going out” because you just wanted to stay home and finish the third disc of “insert favorite show with hot tv boyfriend/girlfriend?” Wouldn’t THAT be violating the rules? I think so!
And so, readers of nonpretentious, I wonder – who are your television boyfriends? Who would persuade you to ditch your friends just to watch 17 more episodes of the shoe he stars in? Need inspiration? Read on for my list!
Being a busy college student, I hardly ever do the unnecessary 100+ page readings my professors assign me. (That’s a lie, I’m OCD and do all my work but it seemed like a good opening sentence).
Anyway, despite my tedious work habits, I continue to do poorly on my not-so-pop quizzes in my Introduction to Film Class.
Yes, I know about the quizzes in advance. I know that there will be 5 questions, 2 based on our screening for the week and 3 based on our reading. But no, Professor Anonymous, I don’t remember what was on line 13 on page 54, so STOP ASKING SO MANY GOD DAMN SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.
As you can see, these quizzes are far from easy. Consequently, I’ve failed *GASP* (Me? Fail? Don’t tell sportsdoc!!!) many of them.
Luckily, my teacher sent us this email:
“So I was noticing that these last quiz scores were quite bad in general. I’m attributing this to spring break hangover — perhaps you forgot to read or takes notes on the movie because your hearts and minds were still in some distant, sunny locale.
Anyway, I’ve decided to give you a chance to improve your quiz score a little bit. The Wisconsin Film Festival is next weekend. Attend a movie at the festival and write a 2 page (double-spaced, 12 font) analysis of the film that talks about its use of style and/or narration. Depending on the quality of your analysis, you can get up to 3 extra quiz points (meaning you will get credit for 3 incorrect answers). Please staple your film ticket to your paper, so we know you actually saw the movie. Turn in your paper in section on April 8.”
Ughhh, I was *SO* annoyed. I DO the readings, I GO to the screenings, I just can’t seem to remember what color shirt the extra in the restaurant scene was wearing. So, unfortunately, I had to wake up at 9:30 AM on Sunday morning and attend a Wisconsin Film Festival movie.
I really didn’t care which movie I saw – I just wanted it to be short, sweet, and easy to write about. I went with one of my close friends who chose for me – Paper or Plastic
Paper or plastic. What does that remind you of? Yep, you got it. The grocery store. I thought to myself – this would be so funny if it was about a grocery store. To my surprise, it was. Even better – it was about The Best Bagger Competition, a competition that finds the best grocery bagger in the country.
So, it sounds lame? Yea…that’s what I thought too…until I was biting my nails and sitting at the edge of my seat waiting to see who won. Literally, I haven’t been that on edge since…I don’t know, Scream or My Dog Skip.
Seriously, this movie was incredible. It was witty, it was engaging, and not to mention hilarious. Oh, and it also taught me many new things .
In fact, things I learned during the movie:
1. Bread should only be packaged horizontally in a bag.
2. “Crunchies” – chips, snack foods, etc. should always go on top. No exceptions!
3. There are grocery bagging trainers.
4. Meat, dairy, fruits and vegetable should all be packaged separately.
5. All grocery bags should be the same weight – separate items accordingly!
See? How interesting. Things you would never know unless you failed a pop quiz (pop quizzes) and needed some extra credit.
Now, it’s doubtful that this movie will hit mainstream movie theaters. So, my only hint of advice is – if there happens to be a film festival rolling through town and this movie is playing, see it. You won’t be disappointed.
There is a time in everyone’s life when all they want to say is “f@!% this.”
You know, when you wake up hungover just to realize your boss is shadowing your progress for the day. Or, you get to class only to remember you had a 13 page term paper due that day that is still sitting in your printer.
It’s at times like these when the only thing that makes sense to say is “f*@# my life.”
Well, it seems that I’m not the only person who feels this way. In fact, there are thousands (okay, side note – I really don’t know, nor do I know how to find out, how many people visit this website daily – so take that with a grain of salt) of common people like me and you who publish their personal life stories that were worthy of a “f!*$ my life.“ (I guess it makes sense that this website is called fmylife.com.)
For those of you who don’t know about this website, or do know about it and have not really taken the time to read through every single “fmylife” (it’s a new noun), there is only one thing I have to say to you: Get to it!
No, it’s not the funniest website EVER. And no, it’s not even a website that will make you happy when you are feeling glum (if that’s what you are looking for, I recommend: puppy cam). I’d say….it’s something in between. It has those hilarious FML’s that make you do the whole “OHHHH I can’t believe that” and those sad few that make you think “you’re 10. stop posting on this website.”
Either way, I highly recommend this website. And remember, if puppy cam doesn’t cheer you up remember you are still better off than this guy:
