Wow.
Has it been awhile?
Yes. It has.
I don't update as often as I should because I am lazy. The end of the quarter is almost here and I really need for it to be done. I am going to be working my booty off in the coming weeks to get projects and such finished. I can't wait. I just wanna sleep.
Remember back when I thought myself a mini-gangster? I am truly one know. I was shot in the ass this week. Someone busted a cap in my ass yo.
Owie. It does hurt no matter what they say.

WHEEEEEE!
I don't have a lot to say because not much has been happening that I want to write about.
So I don't write.
Because RIT is boring.
But this coming weekend won't be cuz its parent's weekend!!!!! I get to dooo stuff and go places with my parents! And I don't have to eat cafeteria food! Hurray!

Another friday night with nothing to do. Oh poor me. It's chilly outside. Smartie left her fall jacket and sweaters packed away with her winter stuff. It would be a good idea to get at that stuff this weekend. Hence the reason I am attempting to do work on a Friday night. So I can be lazy the rest of the weekend.
I am not writing about Seth for the record.
Whoooo! I have a paragraph done of my paper. Listening to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs makes it all the more easy. It is very difficult to write a paper that is only a page long. Some people have to write even longer papers. One page is the hardest I think. How is one supposed to include all of one's thoughts in one page?
Did you know? The dorms are overcrowded. Fish C2 has a lounge with couches and a TV but now we don't have that anymore. People are moving in to it. They had people living in the RIT Inn (some of which is devoted to housing for students) but the whole thing was full of students so now they are trying to move them out. That means moving them into our lounge. I am sad.

Procrastination is the name of the game.
I should be doing my color stuff for my design class but I have from 4 till 5 to do it. Besides I have lemonade! I should sit by my window and gaze at my cactus and enjoy my lemonade. Instead I am updating. I know you all are just itching to know how life is at RIT so I will tell you.
It's fine.
There are things about this campus that I have not noticed before. Tiny little details. I went for a coffee run break from homework walk with someone from my floor yesterday. He claimed there was a Japanese garden somewhere on campus and that he would show me. I was aware of the existence of this place but as of then had not been able to locate it. Surprise surprise the location of the Japanese garden is right next to the front entrance of a building I enter practically everyday. It is just well hidden you see. Today upon leaving class I looked and could see one of the sculputures in the garden. I wonder why I have never noticed it before.
My roommate and I bought a cactus. His name is Charlie. He bites so watch out.
Somehow I scraped the top of my foot yesterday and I cannot recall how it happened. This irks me. Am I loosing my memory? I fear I might be suffering from memory gappage. Oh no!
My design teacher told us to take speed last week because this week we have a critique and will go the full 3 hours for class. (6 to 9PM yuck) I just gotta visit my local speed dealer.
So thats every little thing. I hope you enjoyed it.

I am listening to "Kate" by Ben Folds. It is a song that has the power to make me deliriously happy. I would like to be Kate one day.
I am going to crash the Socialist meeting tonight. It will be a party. Ha ha. We are hoping that Commies give out free food.
Bjork is on my frige. Y'all are jealous.

I got back in the darkroom for the first time in a long time on Tuseday. It was so wonderful to smell that nasty fixer smell again and to fool around with contrast and time control. I just can't explain it...working in a darkroom makes me so happy. But it also can be really draining too because I put so much effort into what I'm doing. I think though, that despite all that, its totally worth it. I really want to go out and shoot for fun this weekend. I have been itching to do so for a really long time. I think the last time my camera and I had one on one time was when I was in Germany. I just want to say for the record that if at midnight, I can't contain myself, and I must take a picture or I will die, that in a dorm, subjects abound. People are doing silly things at midnight. That makes me happy too. I think photography is almost like heroin for me. I need my fix and I need it now. It just doesn't leave annoying track marks.

I am putting Justin Timberlake on my Ipod and waiting for Mike to get ready so we can do laundry.
I love my dorm. The boys are really sweet computer nerds (mostly IT majors) who get hard ons when you have a problem with your computer. For instance: my roommate's computer kept freezing the first week we were here and she had practically half the floor asking her if they could fix it. It was equivalent to me walking around topless or something.
RIT is a paradise for artists and computer geeks. I'm also happy that I haven't seen any hippies. (like one would at UW-Madison...) Allow me to gloat further, while all of you out there still have this whole semester to slave away in class, I have a mere nine weeks before I have finals, a break and then a new set of classes. The quarter system is god. So that means that the next time I will be home will be Thanksgiving. Lots of people went home with weekend and it made me feel kind of sad because I have no home nearby to go to. Sure, I have my cousins' house but it's not really home. Home is where my cat steps on my bladder and I can poop on my own toliet. I'm not really homesick or anything. I like RIT, I want to stay here. I just wish I didn't have to count the days till I get to see my parents again.
It's a beautiful day. Too bad I'm going to spend it underground. Why can't the laundry rooms be outside? That would be stupid because they would be buried in snow.
But life is good. I have conquered the unknown. I know what my classes are like and I can handle them. Yup.

I have just decided (probably because I live in a dorm full of boys) that having blood come out your vagina is the most disconcerting thing in the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, we now 1000 reasons not to vote for Bush.

First day of classes was yesterday. Sometimes RIT really confuses me. You see, AP credits have worked to my advantage and I am now 1 quarter (RIT is on the quarter system) ahead of everyone else in my program. I could do one of two things: take liberal arts this year and then begin to work on my upper level elective requirements next year finally culminating in graduating a quarter early thus busting my ass for two years for a quarter less of work or I can not take liberal arts this year and concentrate on my core classes, such as Materials and Processes of Photography which has the potential to really kick my ass. Which would you do? That's what I thought.

Life is better. I'm not freaking out. At least not right now.
Thank you College Board. Because of you and the gods of scoring, I got to drop two classes. Now, all I have are photo related classes this quarter. No liberal arts, no first year enrichment. Its all good. Now I have wed and friday free. And I have time to eat dinner on Mondays. This is nice. Thus far, I think I can handle stuff.
I'm doing better and I have a support system in place. I can handle this. Being this far away and dealing with what happened to my mom, especially not being with her every second.
Cindy (my cousin) broke it down real nice for me - I get to see them once a month this fall. (Then I have to con them into visists for the winter/spring) Haha.

I just wanted to let y'all know that I got my shit sorted out today. I will be ok.
It was tough saying good bye to my parents especially after all we went through this summer. But I did it. And I just have to keep reminding myself that they are only a phone call away.

guess wher I am? At RIT of course.
And I am freaking out.
The convocation is going on right now but I am skipping it because my paretns will be here shortly to pick me up.
I don't know if I want to stay here yet or if I can handle it or what. I am ok when I not by myself.
Damnit I need kleenex. What am I supposed to do? It's so scary. Sometimes I just want to go home.

guess wher I am? At RIT of course.
And I am freaking out.
The convocation is going on right now but I am skipping it because my paretns will be here shortly to pick me up.
I don't know if I want to stay here yet or if I can handle it or what. I am ok when I not by myself.
Damnit I need kleenex. What am I supposed to do? It's so scary. Sometimes I just want to go home.

That last post had some trouble with itself. I don't have a lot to say. I spent the day in the cities with my parents. I tried unsuccessfully to buy a lightmeter. The dude at National Camera mumbled a lot and I ended up walking out with this student discount thing Mamiya which, upon further surveying, is too much of a bitch to take advantage of. As nice as it would be to get the meter with all the bells and whistles at half price, it is not worth the hastle.
I did enjoy pushing my mother around the big mall in her wheel chair. I also liked giving people dirty looks when they stared or didn't get out of the way fast enough. We were fast moving ladies today. But it is hard pushing a wheel chair across carpeting. I wonder how many calories I burned doing that....
We went to dinner and I had the biggest assed meal I've had in a loooong time. I ate a little bit of everything. My mom and I ordered pie for desert thinking it would be an easy split. NOT SO. The "slice" (if you can call it that) was bigger than my face. It was probably a third of the pie. But it was a good meal and I was thankful to share it with my parents.
My life is pretty mundane right now. I take care of my mom, I work, I read Harry Potter cuz its the only that can keep me sane. By the way, Harry Potter, if you are out there, thanks for keeping me sane the week before I left for Germany. That was a tough week. I had to look at my mom unconscious everyday in the hospital but at least I didn't have to battle Lord Voldemort.

Hey! I am back in a big way and stuff. Back on an American keyboard that is. See on a German keyboard the y and the z are switched. That messed me up and now it feels weird to type either letter.
For all you Harry Potter fans out there....Harry and the Potters
Just what I always wanted, a band that sings about Harry Potter!
So news on my Mama and then we talk about Germany.
Mama is home with me now. She was in the hospital a very long time. But now she is home and back to her sassy self. Bossing me around and whatnot. It is good that she is home. I am happy. It was quite a contrast from when I left and saw my mother for the last time (she was in CCU, unconscious, all hooked up to tubes) to when I went to see her right after I got off the bus last wednesday. (My mother except with a little oxygen thingie in her nose and wearing a hospital gown.) For a while, I was considering putting RIT on hold. But if I can leave for 3 weeks and have her get better, then I can do the same for a school year.
Germany
Germany was a very good time. I don't have any good stories except for the one where I was in a car accident or the one where I went to a foam party at a disco or the one where I peed in the woods or the one where I fell in love with a pair of shoes. But you can all hear them another time. My host family was nice and stuff. I have yet to write to them to tell them I have arrived home safely and whatnot. Writing to Germans takes mad energy even if I do it in English.
I hope all you kids are having a nice summer. If anyone wants to hang out for a short period of time (I have to be around for my mom yo) then lemme know. Ok!

I'M COMING HOME TOMORROW!
I am so excited. Sarah P your suggestion about pie and Osseo sounds divine. I will get back late tomorrow but the morning is prime. I will call.
I can't wait to get back and drive my own car and take a dump whenever I want and not have a creepy German dude (my partner's brother) coming in to my room all the time to do shit knows what on the comp. I don't have to go to school anymore, I can work (and get my pics processed) and I get to see all of you kids. With all of my bitching, I really have enjoyed my time in Germany. I've had a lot of fun and seen a lot of things. I just wish I could have enjoyed it more. My heart was always with my mother and sometimes I just wanted to fly home and be with her. Now my time here is done and I get to do that tomorrow. I am trying to erase the image I have stuck in my head of her hooked up to a breathing machine, unconscious, eyes closed, in the CCU. It's fucking scary but it's all I have. Right now, I have the picture Katja took of me and her in Chicago in my head. She is happy and smiling and wearing a purple sweater. That makes me happy.
Tonight there is a farewell grill out. Katja and I (and others) are going to the grocery store after to school to buy 'alcoholic beverages' (as she put it) because after (the party is 100% Alkohol frei) we are going to a park with the others and getting trashed. Sounds like a farewell to me!
I will miss some things...like Katja and appel wine, and soccer games in sports bars named sports bar, and carbonated appel juice, and milk and honey lotion. Those are mostly material things. What matters most to me right now is getting home to my family and friends.

fucking katja's needs the computer so this will be quick.
All tubes have been removed from my Mom and she has been moved to a rehab facility in Osseo. Fucking Osseo. But there she can get one on one care and work on her breathing. I don't know when she will be home but it probably won't be when I get home. That is by the way this wednesday. Late. Hopefully we will have no problems. I have a whole list of stuff to do when I get home. While I have enjoyed my time in Germany, this was the shittiest time to go. I think I might have had more fun if my mother wasn't in the condition is in. If this is how I feel on another continent, how will I feel in September 900 miles away? What if she never recovers fully? I'm not sure I even want to go to RIT anymore. Shut up Mary.

shouting out from 'school'
I'm in school right now, if you can call it that. I go to school with my partner but I don't actually attend classes. I wanted to go to English this morning but HerrF demanded a meeting. I don't really care. I'm so bored. These computers are bitches like the ones at MHS and won't let you check your email. I will live. I hope we are doing something cool tonight. We don't do much like I said. We have 9 days untill it is time to go back. Class is boring because they talk in German and fast and with words I don't know. So I zone out. Then I nod off and feel bad for nodding off.
The fact that there are cigarette vending machines and that I spend time in bars has in combination made me start to smoke. Kind of. So you crazy kids at the Drive In aren't the only ones. We can smoke at school but Liebham is here now so we gots to be careful.
My hair is almost long enough to pull back. Coffe and ice cream is good together. So is milk and honey lotion. I like that shit a lot. It makes me smell good. I like stuff. My wrist bone sticks out. Alot. Thats weird.

Shouting out from the fatherland yo.
Coming home at 4AM from the disco doesn't agree with me. I'm taking a much needed break from my exchange partner this evening. She's doing something with her boyfriend. I was invited but when they are together they ignore me. Whateva!
Donna - here is what Germans think of Bush: I saw a magazine in my host family's house that had Bush's face on the front surrounded by those prision pictures with a headline that said he was morally bankrupt. I wish I could speak German as well as I can read it. Also a drunk man in a bar asked if I was an American and then told me that Bush is an asshole. All I had to say was, 'Ich weiss.' (I know.)
I like hanging out with Amis (Americans) better than Germans. They speak English and that's nice.
Meine mutter is viel besser. Her breathing tube has been removed and she has been moved from CCU to Immediate Care. Which is good.
Y'all, I'll be home on the 30th. I can't wait to see you and use a normal American keyboard. Peace out.

They have tiramisu candy in Germany. Deutschland really is the land of milk and honey. Or beer and chocolate. I had to cut short my update today because I was suddenly really tired. It was 2AM but I wasn't really aware. But here is what I have been doing. My host family is very nice. The parents speak english with me which I don't like. I guess it is fine in the first few days. Oh well. We will see what happens when we come back from Austria. Even when they speak to me in English I answer in German. I'm not expecting to carry on a long conversation with them, I don't have the skills yo. I guess as I get more comfortable here I will be ok. We leave for Austria tomorrow for five days while some of the Germans take a huge ass test called Das Abitur. So glad I am not German. It essentially decides if they pass or fail high school and can then get into college. That was today's fun fact kids! A couple of nights ago we went to a bar called Peanuts. It is for teenagers or whatnot but mostly people not old enough to buy hard liquor go there (16 for beer, 18 for hard liquor) who also want to be badass. However if are under 18 you must leave at midnight. So snap. I think that Germany's best kept alcoholic secret is apfelweine or appel wine. Damn. Uh huh. Tonight is some kind of rock party. Tom Zimppel and I suggested music for it because they wanted to know what is popular in America but we didn't know. We said things like Fishbone, Steve Miller Band, The Doors, and Jethro Tull. Tom is also famous among the peanuts crowd cuz he got stinking drunk.
In other news....
For those who care...My mother breathed for 3 hours by herself a while ago. I have lost track of the days. The time change is too confusing. She is not being sedated anymore and soon they will take her off the respirator and she will be out of CCU. She wants to eat real food instead of the stuff they have been pumping in through her nose which looks like the worst kind of Slim fast and she wants to read Harry Potter. This last bit tells me she is on the right road. I will probably not have contact with my father while in Austria so she better do super good while I am gone and when I come back she better be ten times better. That is all for now, I am off to party it up German style.

My mother breathed for three hours by herself today. Or where I am, yesterday. I wish that I could be with her. I must party it up however here is Germany. Yesterday, Donna, you will be proud to know that I went to a bar and had some German beer.