I apologize for the lack of posting, since my return from Amsterdam I have been extremely busy working two jobs and taking a class at UMASS. Expect an update when I get the chance to take a breather.
In the mean time I would like to plug Lee's sister Laurel's new blog. She makes me feel bad for not being more fashionable. She just started her own fashion blog, check it out http://modaalalaurel.blogspot.com
-Liz
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Friday, July 4, 2008
Happy Fourth of July!!!
Happy Fourth everyone!
I am spending yet another Independence Day away from the US. Here in Amsterdam you would never know a holiday of such magnitude was happening anywhere, but Laurel, Miranda, Lee and I are celebrating our own way.
Thanfully we have beautiful weather today. Miranda wants to make Mojitos and sit outside. Laurel wants chicken and dumplings. Lee wants cake.
The day started with an epic walking adventure to Dam square for Miranda and I. We were on a pilgrimage to the largest Albert Heijn in the Netherlands, which was a pretty good size on par with an American grocery store. A smaller one of course. Think old IGA size. We had some troubling acquiring confectioner's sugar and mojito supplies, but we managed to scrounge up everything we needed to make this fourth fabulous. We also got to see Darth Vader on the Dam...always a sight to see.
Miranda make homemade tomato soup for lunch and Laurel and I decorated a flag cake seen above. More updated as we continue celebrating..
Hope everyone is having a fun time at home!!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Radiohead and Storms
Currently there is a huge thunderstorm here in Amsterdam, it is pouring rain and thunder and lightning. Very spooky.
Yesterday was the big radiohead concert here in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, Laurel was feeling sick so Lee and I headed to the Westergasfabriek Cultuurpark early and got a spot in line. Fans here in Europe don't line up as early as in America, so Lee and I managed to get a great spot right in front of the stage, about 5 people back. Pretty nice. Of course the venue has been taken over by Live Nation...like everywhere else on the planet. I cannot escape Live Nation. But unlike in America, you have to trade in money for tokens to pay for drinks and food. Which was lame, and tedious. Hopefully, they dont adopt that at the Comcast Center...
The opening band Bats for Lashes was terrible. It was a Bjork knockoff but with people playing four or five instruments per song. Which is way too many, and you never even heard the clarinet or saw...yes saw..being played at any given time. It was painful to wait through, but Lee and I managed to survive. The whole crowd wasnt really feeling it, so there was a huge sigh of relief when they left the stage.
Radiohead was amazing. They had an interesting lighting design that consisted of light tubes all over the stage, which flashed in many colors during the performance. They played all the songs I wanted to hear and there was a great vibe. Thom Yorke was much more happy go lucky than I anticipated, telling jokes and dancing around. it was a great time. They played two encores and even played a new song. Unfortunately, I didnt bring my camera in, so I have no good pictures. But I am sure a quick google search will get me some later :)
-Liz
Yesterday was the big radiohead concert here in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, Laurel was feeling sick so Lee and I headed to the Westergasfabriek Cultuurpark early and got a spot in line. Fans here in Europe don't line up as early as in America, so Lee and I managed to get a great spot right in front of the stage, about 5 people back. Pretty nice. Of course the venue has been taken over by Live Nation...like everywhere else on the planet. I cannot escape Live Nation. But unlike in America, you have to trade in money for tokens to pay for drinks and food. Which was lame, and tedious. Hopefully, they dont adopt that at the Comcast Center...
The opening band Bats for Lashes was terrible. It was a Bjork knockoff but with people playing four or five instruments per song. Which is way too many, and you never even heard the clarinet or saw...yes saw..being played at any given time. It was painful to wait through, but Lee and I managed to survive. The whole crowd wasnt really feeling it, so there was a huge sigh of relief when they left the stage.
Radiohead was amazing. They had an interesting lighting design that consisted of light tubes all over the stage, which flashed in many colors during the performance. They played all the songs I wanted to hear and there was a great vibe. Thom Yorke was much more happy go lucky than I anticipated, telling jokes and dancing around. it was a great time. They played two encores and even played a new song. Unfortunately, I didnt bring my camera in, so I have no good pictures. But I am sure a quick google search will get me some later :)
-Liz
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Risk it
This weekend has been pretty chill here at Ankerplaats. For the most part, Lee Laurel and I have just been lounging around and playing Risk. That's right, Risk. I had never played Risk before, an d it strikes me as a bit Dungeons and Dragons like, but whatever we had a good time.
Today after our adventures to the Flower Market and whatnot, I went out and did a little souvenir shopping. It was a beautiful day and there were alot of people cruising on their boats through the canals and enjoying the nice weather. This evening Lee and I have been catching up on laundry, while Laurel is out with Aleks. We took a short break to the Thai Company Restaurant for dinner, and to Albert Heijn where I scored the last bunch of bananas. The Albert Heijn tends to get very picked over on the weekends, and it was destiny that the one item I was seeking only had one left.
Right now Spain leads in the Euro Cup with 1 goal. Miranda and Caren return tomorrow from their adventures in Africa, can't wait to hear all about it.
-Liz
Today after our adventures to the Flower Market and whatnot, I went out and did a little souvenir shopping. It was a beautiful day and there were alot of people cruising on their boats through the canals and enjoying the nice weather. This evening Lee and I have been catching up on laundry, while Laurel is out with Aleks. We took a short break to the Thai Company Restaurant for dinner, and to Albert Heijn where I scored the last bunch of bananas. The Albert Heijn tends to get very picked over on the weekends, and it was destiny that the one item I was seeking only had one left.
Right now Spain leads in the Euro Cup with 1 goal. Miranda and Caren return tomorrow from their adventures in Africa, can't wait to hear all about it.
-Liz
While you were sleeping...
Lee, Laurel and I went to the flower market and to get pancakes! This morning we got up early to get flowers for the house, and enjoy a nice breakfast out. Here are some photos for now, expect a more thorough update later today:
I eagerly anticipate what was advertised as the "Best Pancakes in Amsterdam"...
Laurel and Lee enjoying some pancakes. Lee with apple, and Laurel with bacon.
Our haul from the flower market. Dahlias, Bright Eyes, and Lavender. All for only 18 euro! Amazing.
-Liz
I eagerly anticipate what was advertised as the "Best Pancakes in Amsterdam"...
Laurel and Lee enjoying some pancakes. Lee with apple, and Laurel with bacon.
Our haul from the flower market. Dahlias, Bright Eyes, and Lavender. All for only 18 euro! Amazing.
-Liz
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Amsterdam continued
Wednesday: I got my long deserved lazy day here in Amsterdam. I was able to sleep in, something I havent really done in months, and just relax. After making the Harple family some mac and cheese, Lee and I went to meet my brother to see the latest Indiana Jones movie. I must say it was not quite what I expected, but I was glad I finally got to see it. It was sort of Indiana Jones meets X-Files more than anything. I just hope that they dont go on to make more sequels with the son of Indiana Jones, that would get kind of sad.
Thursday: Lee and I spent the morning researching cheap Indonesian restaurants, and we met my brother for lunch in the Dam square. The place we picked was not the one with a "grubby oriental decor" but it was alright for 8 euros a person. Typical tourist area fare. Lee and I took the long way walking home and came back to watch Spain v. Russia. Of course, Spain won, totally dominated the Russian advances. Looking forward to the Euro Cup final on Sunday which will be Germany v. Spain. That should be an interesting game. Personally, I am rooting for Spain, Ramos and Torres are just too fun of names to not yell out excitedly during a soccer game.
Friday: We started the day lazily, and then Laurel encouraged Lee and I to go out shopping with her. Lee got to get some Kantjils, the local Indonesian to go spot, where they essentially microwave the food in a box and give it to you. I personally prefer the asian to go places of the wok variety, but Lee prefers Kantjil's peanut sauce. After shopping, Lee, Laurel, Laurel's friend Jess, and I returned to Ankerplaats where we spent the evening.
-Liz
Thursday: Lee and I spent the morning researching cheap Indonesian restaurants, and we met my brother for lunch in the Dam square. The place we picked was not the one with a "grubby oriental decor" but it was alright for 8 euros a person. Typical tourist area fare. Lee and I took the long way walking home and came back to watch Spain v. Russia. Of course, Spain won, totally dominated the Russian advances. Looking forward to the Euro Cup final on Sunday which will be Germany v. Spain. That should be an interesting game. Personally, I am rooting for Spain, Ramos and Torres are just too fun of names to not yell out excitedly during a soccer game.
Friday: We started the day lazily, and then Laurel encouraged Lee and I to go out shopping with her. Lee got to get some Kantjils, the local Indonesian to go spot, where they essentially microwave the food in a box and give it to you. I personally prefer the asian to go places of the wok variety, but Lee prefers Kantjil's peanut sauce. After shopping, Lee, Laurel, Laurel's friend Jess, and I returned to Ankerplaats where we spent the evening.
I am finishing up this post with some photos of the Harple house here, particularly the views out of Katrina's bedroom where Lee and I are staying:
-Liz
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Two Weeks in Amsterdam
My computer is finally up and running here in Amsterdam, after realizing I had brought the wrong plug, and was trying to force a UK plug into an EU hole. It will never work. Laurel thankfully got me the necessary conversion tools and I am finally ready to update the world. Here is a summary of the last few days:
Saturday: Lee and I got ourselves together, rather last minute, and left for Amsterdam. Our flight was pretty wonderful, the plane had individual screens with ondemand entertainment. Lee and I spent our time watching "Cars" and playing trivia with other passengers in the plane names Sandy and Aceman. They were both farther back in the plane, it told us their seat locations if we really wanted to, I suppose we could have gone back there and smeared my victory in their faces, but whatever. We arrived safe and sound here in Amsterdam on Sunday morning.
Sunday: We spent a nice lazy Sunday going to the local Albert Heijn with Laurel, and laying around. The grocery store is alot less leisurely than one would expect. Sundays are actually very cutthroat, the bread and milk was almos totally gone by 4pm and the teenage stockboys were frantically trying to get things back on the shelves as fast as they were flying off. Laurel and I do make an excellent cooking team, and we made dinner for everone of pasta, chicken, and my renowned tomato cream sauce, which always comes out better in Amsterdam thanks to their much superior dairy products. We finished the night by watching the Spain v. Italy soccer game. Spain won.
Monday: Lee and I took the journey to Schipol Airport to surprise my brother who was flying in from Tel Aviv. The trip to the airport went well, I got a SIM card for the Netherlands, Lee got some frites, all was well, until we show up at Arrivals 1 and see this massive crowd of olderwomen, children, and a person with special needs hanging around anxiously waiting the arrival of some female fighter. They had a sign saying " Welkom thuis kampion!" and were outfitted with Holland soccer horns, and orange regalia, and dozens bouquets of flowers. Lee and I were hoping my brother would come out before the Kampion, but unfortunately we were front row for the fanfare and loudness that occurred once she came out. Very traumatic indeed. My brother got situated, and I spent the night out with Lee and Laurel.
Tuesday: Today was a great day. I woke up early and went to the Van Gogh Museum and the Reijksmuseum with my brother. Laurel and Lee managed to join us for the Rijksmuseum. The Van Gogh museum was lsightly underimpressive, but the Rijks is always a delight with their mix of militaria and great art. After culture, the three of us headed to the Nine Streets to eat lunch at Goodies, a cafe with great sandwiches. I of course went for goatcheese, walnut paste and apples on large pieces of brown bread. Amazing. After lunch Jos, came back to see the Harples house on the Herengracht, and Lee's father took us out for a cruise on his canal boat, Penikese, which is nothing short of gorgeous. Both Jos and Dan took some good pictures on the boat, hopefully I will get some copies from my brother soon. After the lovely cruise through the canals and along the Amstel, Lee, Jos and I went to eat at Casa di David, a favorite Italian restaurant here. Extremely hopping on a Tuesday night, we had an excellent dinner all around. The real appeal of Casa di David is not just the food, but also the atmosphere which is completely filled with the hectic conversations in Italian occurring between the all male wait staff. It is extremely entertaining on it's own, but the food is truly amazing.
To check out more photos from my trip, uploaded live as they happen, and for pictures of my other summer adventures check out this album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033985&l=31d6b&id=35302136
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Kanye West and Nine Inch Nails
No, the two are not playing together, at least not in the next few months.
In an attempt to put my work at the Tweeter Center to good use, I will try to give a quick review of all the shows I go to,and add to the fun and buzz on the Internet over this summer's epic touring concert schedule.
Friday, was Kanye West's Glow in the Dark Tour. It hit the Tweeter Center, fortunately it was not raining, although there were plenty of girls (and boys) inappropriately dressed for the weather. A bizarre crowd made up of a mix of parents toting tweens and their friends, scenesters and nerdy white kids, and black kids dressed as if they went to my prep school were in attendance. And I should not forget the group of excessively accessorized foreigners with limited English whom I assisted and was thanked with an ass grab. Overall ass grab count for the night was a measly two, but that is still two too many.
The opening acts were normal fare: Lupe Fiasco, N.E.R.D. and Rihanna. I had never heard of Lupe Fiasco, and his set was unimpressive and largely unintelligible. N.E.R.D. provided weird slowed down versions of their jams, and I was a touch disappointed that they were on stage too long, causing the whole concert to run 30 minutes behind schedule. Rihanna (whom I saw 3 times last summer working at Tweeter) did her thing like she always does, nothing overly elaborate, played her hits and got off the stage.
Kanye West...oh Kanye..on a stage looking like some sort of cross between David Bowie and a high school musical.. presented a weird space themed musical that was by far one of the queerest concerts I have ever seen. I have seen Hilary Duff and many a country concert with Ford F-150's rolling across the stage, but Kanye took it to a new level. Speaking to a disembodied voice known as his spaceship Jane, Kanye attempts to tell a narrative through his songs. Unfortunately, none of his songs are about outer space, or are at all narratively linear so this made it bizarre. The whole time he dances around on a stage that looks like the moon, with one section that raises up and down in a diamond shape. Whatever.
I get it, you want to have a high production value rap concert. I will give the man credit, it was a departure from the typical rapper and his posse on stage delivering their hits, but it was lacking. There is something to be said for going on stage and just rocking it out for 2 hours, playing your jams. That's what people want to see, they don't want some sort of bizarrely elaborate stage show, that looks hokey. Kanye did play all his jams (thank god). But he hid his band from view until the last 3 minutes of the encore, when he let the audience see on the screens that there was in fact a band back there playing instruments. Now, I think he paid too much because it sounded no better to me than a tape track used by any rapper. If he really wanted to break the mold, and seem less pompous, he should have had the band on stage, he should have interacted with the different musicians. He should strip down his music, make it seem fresh and live.
Kanye finished the night by proclaiming he is not arrogant, but in fact has high self esteem, and that "they" (the government? george bush?) want us all to have no self esteem, and that's why people aren't down with him. Yeah okay. I will be the first to admit, Kanye got catchy jams, but as Orlando Patterson said to me back in 2005 in Precalc class "Kanye should just stay a producer."
Nine Inch Nails came out with a free album this past week. It's good stuff, and a good deal. Head on over to www.nin.com to get your copy.
-Liz
In an attempt to put my work at the Tweeter Center to good use, I will try to give a quick review of all the shows I go to,and add to the fun and buzz on the Internet over this summer's epic touring concert schedule.
Friday, was Kanye West's Glow in the Dark Tour. It hit the Tweeter Center, fortunately it was not raining, although there were plenty of girls (and boys) inappropriately dressed for the weather. A bizarre crowd made up of a mix of parents toting tweens and their friends, scenesters and nerdy white kids, and black kids dressed as if they went to my prep school were in attendance. And I should not forget the group of excessively accessorized foreigners with limited English whom I assisted and was thanked with an ass grab. Overall ass grab count for the night was a measly two, but that is still two too many.
The opening acts were normal fare: Lupe Fiasco, N.E.R.D. and Rihanna. I had never heard of Lupe Fiasco, and his set was unimpressive and largely unintelligible. N.E.R.D. provided weird slowed down versions of their jams, and I was a touch disappointed that they were on stage too long, causing the whole concert to run 30 minutes behind schedule. Rihanna (whom I saw 3 times last summer working at Tweeter) did her thing like she always does, nothing overly elaborate, played her hits and got off the stage.
Kanye West...oh Kanye..on a stage looking like some sort of cross between David Bowie and a high school musical.. presented a weird space themed musical that was by far one of the queerest concerts I have ever seen. I have seen Hilary Duff and many a country concert with Ford F-150's rolling across the stage, but Kanye took it to a new level. Speaking to a disembodied voice known as his spaceship Jane, Kanye attempts to tell a narrative through his songs. Unfortunately, none of his songs are about outer space, or are at all narratively linear so this made it bizarre. The whole time he dances around on a stage that looks like the moon, with one section that raises up and down in a diamond shape. Whatever.
I get it, you want to have a high production value rap concert. I will give the man credit, it was a departure from the typical rapper and his posse on stage delivering their hits, but it was lacking. There is something to be said for going on stage and just rocking it out for 2 hours, playing your jams. That's what people want to see, they don't want some sort of bizarrely elaborate stage show, that looks hokey. Kanye did play all his jams (thank god). But he hid his band from view until the last 3 minutes of the encore, when he let the audience see on the screens that there was in fact a band back there playing instruments. Now, I think he paid too much because it sounded no better to me than a tape track used by any rapper. If he really wanted to break the mold, and seem less pompous, he should have had the band on stage, he should have interacted with the different musicians. He should strip down his music, make it seem fresh and live.
Kanye finished the night by proclaiming he is not arrogant, but in fact has high self esteem, and that "they" (the government? george bush?) want us all to have no self esteem, and that's why people aren't down with him. Yeah okay. I will be the first to admit, Kanye got catchy jams, but as Orlando Patterson said to me back in 2005 in Precalc class "Kanye should just stay a producer."
Nine Inch Nails came out with a free album this past week. It's good stuff, and a good deal. Head on over to www.nin.com to get your copy.
-Liz
Monday, May 12, 2008
Summer
I have successfully finished my spring semester. This means, that I never have to read Chaucer again if I don't want to, and that I will finally have more time for blogging. Look ahead in the future for more entries, fairly regularly.
Summer plans?
Working.
Amsterdam June 23-? meeting up with my brother and generally exploring the city in summertime.
Summer class July 7-August 8
Oh yeah, and Coco wrangling.
-Liz
Summer plans?
Working.
Amsterdam June 23-? meeting up with my brother and generally exploring the city in summertime.
Summer class July 7-August 8
Oh yeah, and Coco wrangling.
-Liz
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Coco!
These are some new pics of our lovely new puppy Coco! Enjoy! Right now she is at my feet playing with a stray flip flop!
I will post more tomorrow!
-Liz
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Midgets and rabbits
Friday night I finally had the chance to see In Bruges , a film that I have spoken of several times on this blog. The film finally made its way down from Boston and closer to my home and is playing at the Nickelodeon in Falmouth. Frances and I made the trek out to Falmouth to catch the last showing Friday night and it was worth it. I was already excited to go to the Nickelodeon, simply because the place is very surreal. It is quite literally in the middle of nowhere in Falmouth, which is an accomplishment considering it is on the Cape, nestled between golf courses on the way to Mashpee. The place is very old school; the theaters are small, and with only a handful of screens, they choose to selectively play arthouse-ish movies, foreign releases, and documentaries. I had been there one other time with Tabor for a class to see The Pianist and I was pumped to go back.
I snagged the above picture on the sly on the way into the building, we were being observed by the 5 employees inside. There were very few cars in the parking lot, the place is not too busy. (BTW- I love the humorous placing of the films on the right, classic.. Frances noted, "Bands Visit Jimmy Carter In Bruges! Now thats a movie I want to see!") The eager 14 year old doled out some refreshments for us, tried to push the refillable large popcorn, (does anyone ever get that?) and we went into the theater. There was only one other man in there, and the three of us were the entire audience for the film. Love it.
I really enjoyed In Bruges, it was to put it simply, VERY Irish. The jokes were Irish, the tone was Irish, the themes were Irish. Had I not spent significantly more time in Ireland than most people, I might have been challenged by the film. I do not think I would have appreciated it as much as I did since I had the background to understand what the director was getting at. I also found the film extremely clever. I really am not exaggerating when I say that this was the best performance I have ever seen by Colin Farrell...ever. He was believable. I am sure this is made easier because he was playing an Irish person from Dublin. Farrell lives in Ballsbridge, only a few streets from my old place in Dublin. I guess the part was not too much of a stretch for him on the surface. However, the circumstances of his character Ray, a hitman on the run after he ruins a job by shooting a child, we re a reach. I was impressed by his performance, and enjoyed watching him.
Ray Fiennes also spectacular. Think Nazi captain in Schindler's List but British and a hit man. It worked well.
The film was quick and deliberate, every detail was important, there was no fluff. The themes and concepts the film questions through the offhand comments of its characters are still running through my head now. The film mixed humor and tragedy seamlessly into the same moments. At times it was hard to reconcile laughing at things as terrible as they were, but the witty dialogue made it easier to see the film and prevented it from dragging too much emotionally. Did I mention there is even a dwarf in the movie? Come on who can say no to that?
Bruges is a character herself in this movie. There are so many glamorous beautiful shots of Bruges at Christmastime. It is great to see a sort of georgraphical postcard for my own vacation. If you have never been to Bruges, this film kind of makes you want to go there. If you have been, you really appreciate it more I think.
I really do not want to give too much of the film away, I really want to urge everyone to try and see it. It is open pretty much everywhere both in Europe and the US, so check it out.
In other news, I am in the process of finishing projects and course selection for the fall. So I should be busy the next few weeks.
Happy Easter!
-Liz
Monday, March 17, 2008
Good Luck Ashley!
Tomorrow my best friend in the whole wide world, Ashley Sullivan is off for the Navy. Everyone wish her luck in her latest adventure, we will all be missing her tremendously!
Myself, Frances and Ashley at her going away party on Saturday.
I am finally getting a break in my studies over Easter, so expect more relevant posts soon!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
inmates and movie trailers
Today, something interesting occurred on my commute back from Stonehill.
I found myself behind a van from the Bristol County Sherrif's Department at a red light. This van was filled with inmates emblazoned with orange jumpsuits. As I paused qat the light, one of the inmates in the back window began making lewd gestures at me. Inappropriate. I proceeded to pass the van on the right, to get away. I do feel relieved knowing the man is already incarcerated, but hey, commuting is always bizarre.
In other news, I have been meaning to post on this for a few days now, a new movie trailer caught my interest the other day. The trailer is below, and it is for the new Colin Farrel movie In Bruges. The movie opened at the Sundance Festival recently. I thought the film's scenery looked familiar not just because I went to Bruges in November, but also because the hideout scenes were filmed at the same hotel Lee and I stayed at! The scene where Colin Farrell and his costar are eating breakfast and reading the telegram from his boss, is the exact same place where Lee and I ate our breakfast each morning. I can't wait to see this film, its a great video postcard my 20th birthday trip. I am just surprised no one at the hotel told us a movie has been filmed there in the past year! and of all the locations in Europe, Bruges is a bit bizarre.
-Liz
I found myself behind a van from the Bristol County Sherrif's Department at a red light. This van was filled with inmates emblazoned with orange jumpsuits. As I paused qat the light, one of the inmates in the back window began making lewd gestures at me. Inappropriate. I proceeded to pass the van on the right, to get away. I do feel relieved knowing the man is already incarcerated, but hey, commuting is always bizarre.
In other news, I have been meaning to post on this for a few days now, a new movie trailer caught my interest the other day. The trailer is below, and it is for the new Colin Farrel movie In Bruges. The movie opened at the Sundance Festival recently. I thought the film's scenery looked familiar not just because I went to Bruges in November, but also because the hideout scenes were filmed at the same hotel Lee and I stayed at! The scene where Colin Farrell and his costar are eating breakfast and reading the telegram from his boss, is the exact same place where Lee and I ate our breakfast each morning. I can't wait to see this film, its a great video postcard my 20th birthday trip. I am just surprised no one at the hotel told us a movie has been filmed there in the past year! and of all the locations in Europe, Bruges is a bit bizarre.
-Liz
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
General Life Update
I know it has been over a month since my last post. After urging from friends and family, I am now finally getting around to updating. It has been a crazy month. There was the holidays, and school started, and things are now just slowing down. I also squeezed in a short visit to see Lee somehow in there too.
I started a new semester at Stonehill, as a commuter. Dorm life is just not for me, and I do not miss it in the slightest. I get to eat my own food, take showers without flip flops, and I am no longer at risk of contracting some sort of skin eating virus through the bathroom of the dorm. Life is good.
I am taking 5 classes, and I have a very busy schedule. I am at school everyday Monday- Friday, my busiest day being Wednesday. The drive is approximately 35 minutes from Rochester to Stonehill, depending on traffic and Dunkin Donuts stops along the way. (One day I must figure out how many DD's there are between here and there, it must be an astronomical amount.) I like the hour and ten minutes I get to myself everyday. It gives me time to listen to my CD's, talk on the phone, and generally just think. It works well as a tool to ease into the day and decompress out of it. I am actually enjoying it. There is a certain zen to driving on 24 everyday, even if it does decrease my survival rate slightly on a daily basis.
I am taking three English classes this semester: Critical Theory, Early Modern Literature and Chaucer. Three very difficult required upper level courses for my major. So far the work has been manageable, and I am enjoying them for the most part. Critical Theory is my favorite, despite the often bizarre and unintelligible subject matter. Father George Piggford is a great professor, and he really makes the class much more enjoyable than it was in Dublin. Early Modern Literature, taught by Professor Duncan, is going well. The subject matter is around the contemporaries writing in the time of Shakespeare. It is refreshing to finally get a chance to read someone else coming out of the Renaissance, even if it means you just realize how unoriginal Shakespeare really was. Lastly, Chaucer is, well still the bane of my existence.
I am also taking my required Moral Reasoning class for Stonehill. I chose to take Jesus and Moral Decisions with Father Gribble. I really like Father Gribble as a professor, I had him for my introductory religious studies class Freshman year. The subject matter has been interesting so far, I will be sure to keep everyone updated on what my friends like to refer to as simply "Jesus class". To think last spring i was in Judaism. Now I am in Jesus.
Lastly, I am taking FA101 on Wednesday mornings. I love art. It's going well, even if I am slightly over qualified for the course. Yes, I took the courses backwards. I already completed the upper level drawing class. Some people are just wacky. It should be a good time.
That is the summary. I will do my best to update more frequently. Hopefully on more relevant things.
-Liz
I started a new semester at Stonehill, as a commuter. Dorm life is just not for me, and I do not miss it in the slightest. I get to eat my own food, take showers without flip flops, and I am no longer at risk of contracting some sort of skin eating virus through the bathroom of the dorm. Life is good.
I am taking 5 classes, and I have a very busy schedule. I am at school everyday Monday- Friday, my busiest day being Wednesday. The drive is approximately 35 minutes from Rochester to Stonehill, depending on traffic and Dunkin Donuts stops along the way. (One day I must figure out how many DD's there are between here and there, it must be an astronomical amount.) I like the hour and ten minutes I get to myself everyday. It gives me time to listen to my CD's, talk on the phone, and generally just think. It works well as a tool to ease into the day and decompress out of it. I am actually enjoying it. There is a certain zen to driving on 24 everyday, even if it does decrease my survival rate slightly on a daily basis.
I am taking three English classes this semester: Critical Theory, Early Modern Literature and Chaucer. Three very difficult required upper level courses for my major. So far the work has been manageable, and I am enjoying them for the most part. Critical Theory is my favorite, despite the often bizarre and unintelligible subject matter. Father George Piggford is a great professor, and he really makes the class much more enjoyable than it was in Dublin. Early Modern Literature, taught by Professor Duncan, is going well. The subject matter is around the contemporaries writing in the time of Shakespeare. It is refreshing to finally get a chance to read someone else coming out of the Renaissance, even if it means you just realize how unoriginal Shakespeare really was. Lastly, Chaucer is, well still the bane of my existence.
I am also taking my required Moral Reasoning class for Stonehill. I chose to take Jesus and Moral Decisions with Father Gribble. I really like Father Gribble as a professor, I had him for my introductory religious studies class Freshman year. The subject matter has been interesting so far, I will be sure to keep everyone updated on what my friends like to refer to as simply "Jesus class". To think last spring i was in Judaism. Now I am in Jesus.
Lastly, I am taking FA101 on Wednesday mornings. I love art. It's going well, even if I am slightly over qualified for the course. Yes, I took the courses backwards. I already completed the upper level drawing class. Some people are just wacky. It should be a good time.
That is the summary. I will do my best to update more frequently. Hopefully on more relevant things.
-Liz
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