lizz

Last night, after being too stressed to fall asleep for nearly 2 hours, I had a dream that I was in the Sahara Desert, but I was drowning. There were branches and underwater plants poking me and pulling me under water, causing me to choke and gasp for air. There were people and animals in the distance watching me struggle but not doing anything. I was sleeping in Siobhan's bed with her and I must have been making noise because she woke up and woke me up.

In other words, I am, and have been for several weeks, entirely horrified and terribly saddened about graduating college. Consistently, I cry when thinking about it. I should go back and read my entry from when I graduated high school. I know I felt very similarly and believe I wrote a detailed entry about it.

Having Siobhan there was a nice, loving relief from a nightmare like that. This morning I went to her school for an assembly where I was honored, along with mainly grandparents and siblings of other 7th graders, as a real-life hero. Siobhan wrote an essay about me and presented me with a certificate and a name tag that says, "Hi, I'm Elizabeth Tooher and I'm a Hero!" The 7th grade English teachers put together video clips of all the students saying loving words to their heros. Siobhan said, "Hi Mooshy. You're the best. Love ya'." Being in a junior high made me want to be an English teacher. I feel like I can do it and be good at it and really get something from it. At least for a while. I'll be hearing back from the NYC Teaching Fellowship any day now. I always spell at least as one word. Atleast.

The rest of the day went like this:

-35 minute cab ride from Penn where the driver and I talked about Obama and Rev. Wright, his deaf wife who teaches in Brooklyn, Marymount, gas prices, and teacher salaries.

-Class where we talked about Chaucer and his critique of courtly love and free will.

-Strawberry fest -- free food and neon green totes and organic strawberries and friends like Kate and Kim.

-Babysitting -- 2 hour nap in which I talked to katie on facebook chat for too long, ate cereal, and took a nap myself. Then, rectal thermometers, fevers, and tylenol.


I was reading about the boy at Ithaca college who was found dead this morning after being missing since Sunday night. Awful, horrible things everyday. Reading the blog and the facebook group that was made while he was missing was sad and moving. It's honesty and (oh lord this word is from a bad poem) purity and intense hope and planning and searching from his friends was too much to read for long. I feel terrible for this boys friends and family. These freshman are really going to be dealing with some difficult things and I'm going to be hoping positive outcomes for them, namely Alice's sister.


Brian is coming downtown now. We're both distributing a story in Nonfiction tomorrow and we both need to write one. On occasions like tonight, when I go to cafes and write stories on my Mac while wearing silly dresses and lots of patterns, I think how disgustingly New York I am. It's a good thing I am me or I'd hate me. Know what I mean?

These LJ entries always run away with themselves.

Take care, friends! I love you.

Construction workers, union guys like uncle patrick and uncle bill, don't wear winter jackets to work. They dress in layers -- t-shirt, flannel shirt, sweatshirt or fleece, and so often a denim button-down shirt, unbuttoned. Their jeans are sometimes ripped, but always stained with stucco or tar or whatever medium they work in. Their socks are white, bought in packages of six or eight and have holes in them. They're probably different lengths. Their boots are dusty and if they work on their knees, the fronts of them are worn away. Their wives wash their clothes in hot water, dry them with scented pieces of fabric, fold them and put them into dressers, never really clean. Sometimes they have mustaches -- by friday they all have beards that are gone again on monday. They drink beer from cans in brown bags on the train ride home. They read the newspaper at the same time. They nod at one another and say, "Finally friday," as they slowly bend to sit. The ones who work saturday don't care that it's friday.



I was on the train coming to Long Island tonight and a construction worker sat across from me and I noticed how all construction workers have the same look. Sort of like when you and your dog start to look alike, I guess.

School is done for 5 weeks. I still have a lot of things to do for The Review, which I really should have done by now.

Teach For America application is due by January 4th. To the two or three of you who know her, I think I'm going to ask Sejal for a recommendation letter.


"It's late and I'm crushed that I have to accept you don't know my name. It's late and I'm needin' an escape." -K.Town, Minor Grievances.

Yesterday kim and I realized that we had nothing to do because all of our "main players" were away. (We also realized that we only have 2 other "main players" besides each other so the likelihood of both of them being should be more likely than we are accustomed)

We walked to St. Mark's just because and we ran into Katie who was in chipotle and spotted us walking by. As we were going up the stairs to go inside, Kieran Culkin walked right into me and gave Kim a half smile as he moved around me. Then it was to union square where I bought a gift for Brian Letchworth's mother, Athena. We then drank hot chocolate and I came home and took a nap and she went to see Anna.

I'm home alone all day and only getting a small amount of work done. It's cold, the heat hasn't been on.

I'm wearing the dress I wore on my birthday to the snowball. So, that's good to know now.

I wish I didn't fret about post-graduation every day.

I'm going to try and get a friend dinner organized right now. Grilled cheese and soup?

It's 2am and I'm on the stoop. I'm waiting for Michael to get here. Hopefully with a smile.


Today I babysat Sam Smith. He's some ultra-private school and picking him up is awks. Why? The upper east side moms stand on one side of the nannies on another and then I am somewhere in the middle, not really accepted by either side.


This is dumb, anything I am going to write you all know about already.



MIKE GET HERE NOW!

Yesterday I watched the last hour of Aviator, The Last King of Scotland, and Happy Endings.

Today, Zed and I sat on the porch and took online quizzes for 2.5 hours, and now I just read 12 pages of dlisted on Anna Nicole Smith.

I need to start packing. Those damn under-the-bed storage things cost $17 a piece. outrageous. Since Sam and Rug's wedding gift, I don't go anywhere without my most recent 20% Bed, Bath, and Beyond coupon.

I found a daybed on craig's list that I am picking up on friday! It's simple and nice and inexpensive. I realized it doesn't really matter what it looks like since it will be covered in fabrics and pillows.

A little while ago Kitty, Zed, and I were sitting in my room and a cat that did not belong to us came strolling in. Kitty screamed and the cat ran out the open glass door in the living room. Imagine the nerve! Some stray cat just wandering in! Oreo, my cat, is a huge whore. I guess one of his ladies was coming looking for him. DNA test or something, I'd assume.

I called my dad a little while ago:

Dad - We're going upstate tomorrow.
Me - You are upstate.
Dad - Yea. Further upstate. (pause) Lake George.
Me - Oh. that's cool. What's up there?
Dad - A lake.

Thinking of Marge and my father going on a vacation is gross. Thinking of Marge and my dad smuggling their disgusting dog into a hotel is grosser. Atleast we know they wont be coming home for one of their surprise visits anytime soon.

Kim, Come stay in Long Beach Wednesday night. Bring Mike and Shaunna. I'll make a meal and we can go swimming in the moonlight.

every semester. every semester that I have been at marymount manhattan college I have had to pay the $175 late fee for tuition. every. single. one.

For the past 45 minutes there has been a dragonfly attacking the outside of the screen in my window. Also for the last 50 minutes one of the light bulbs in my room has been flickering non-stop. My aunt has this big theory about how people communicate through flicking lights and was just telling me how all weeks lights in her house have been strange and she thinks it's because it's the one year anniversary of my aunt dying. I don't really know about the dragonfly. Although Mrs.Coyle has a similar connection with dragonflies. Guys, THE DEAD ARE TALKING TO ME.

Tonight I've also spent a lot of time listening to the first five seconds of a song. You see, I was reading on my bed with my itunes remote and just scanning when I decided that I really wanted to hear "What do you do with a BA in English?" from Avenue Q. Unfortunately, itunes was not on the same page and I had to give up and do it manually.

What else

In the past 2 days I've watched two asian horror movies with Timmy. They were both not very good. Asians, man. They are a world away. elyse, do you agree?

Does anyone want to come to Florida with me on September 8th for my cousin's wedding? I'm a bridesmaid and do not want to go alone. Hopefully, I'm flying for free. Hopefully, not alone.

2 weeks from today I move into 3e. While I was trying to find that song a little while ago I was studying the window I rescued from the trash this past spring and decided what I want to do with it in 3e. It's going to be hung from the window frame with 2 chains in front of the existing window. It's going to be really good. I also remembered my hot pink chair that I hope will fit into 3e somewhere. I love this chair. It has to come. It's coming. I've also been thinking about how K.Coyle doesn't want a stitch of fabric on her half of the room and it makes me laugh to think about how different our halves are going to look. It's going to be great or awful. KC, I've decided on Anna's half of the room. Does that work for you?

That dragonfly wont give it a rest.

When I was in Prague doing the creative writing thing I kept hearing how important it is to write everyday for at least an hour. I have never done this and have not been doing this since being back from Prague. One of my professors sent out an e-mail to everyone thanking them for a great time and at the end he p.s'ed saying that I better be writing an hour everyday. woops. I should just shut up and do it.

Being home is boring. Tomorrow I'm babysitting the cousins. Tomorrow Marge and my dad go back upstate.

I saw brittany this morning. Here's a piece of dialogue:

"You know, I've been thinking about it and we both got to do what we really wanted to do this year." -Brittany
"Yea?" -Me
"Yea. You got to travel and whatever. And I got to party like a rock star." -Brittany
"Yea. I guess we did." -Me
"I mean, we're only young once. if we don't do it now, when will we?" -Brittany
"Well, I don't really want to party like a rock star now and I'm planning on always traveling." -Me
"Yea, but you know what I mean." -Brittany
"Do I?" -Me
"Oh, shut up." -Brittany

This is how pretty much all of our conversations go. She says something and I refute it. We also got in a fight over whether Disney was communist or fascist. I realized as soon as Brittany said that it was fascist and not communistic that she was probably right, but decided to fight with her about it instead of acknowledging that she was correct.

This also happened:

"You know how we decided that when you get married I can live in your basement?" -Brittany
"Haha, yea." -Me
"Well, if I get married first, will you live in my basement? -Brittany
"No." -Me
"Why not?!" -Brittany
"Because I don't approve of your lifestyle." -Me
"That makes sense." -Brittany

This is post her going on and on about her nose hurting and being runny lately and the reason why, if you know what I'm sayin'.

One more Brittany tidbit, because I really like sharing them with sane people:

She's driving like a lunatic in that bmw convertible of hers and I am gasping and extending my foot as if I have a break on my side when all of a sudden her phone rings, "Hi....Oh great....Okay.....Yea, I'll swing by when I can." She hangs up and just continues on without telling me who it was, so I ask. She tells me that she special ordered 3 bottles of "bong vodka" from Beach Liquors, the liquor store in Long Beach. After asking a series of questions I learn that it is regular vodka but in a bottle that is shaped like a bong. You drill a hole in it and insert a slide. All for a mere $40 a bottle.

I hate to love her. Or love to hate her.

bye guys.

Back in America. For a while there, I wasn't sure the day would ever come. I didn't sleep for three nights and I went a little nutsy, but it was great and I'm great and everything is going to be great this month.

Long Beach is good, Kitty is good, my cousins are good, etc.

The Welcome Home party I threw for myself went off pretty well. I was going to talk about highlights, but they wont matter to any of you. Except for when Carolyn and Kim called me and I left the party for an hour to go talk to them and further plot out Spice Girl alliances. We came up with some good schemes (Shaunna, I'll fill you in soon).

Here's the thing, When people ask "So how was Africa?" I don't know how to answer. I mean, I can easily say, "It was great!" but that is hardly sufficient. Maybe I should ask if they would like to sit down and look through the photos with me and I can share some stories. I wish there was an easy way to express how Africa was. Moving on...

Today Catherine and I went to the city to get a table I bought off of some marymounter who was selling it on the facebook marketplace. While walking through the park to her apartment, I hear my name being called, "Lizz, Lizz Tooher," at first, I am confused because I forget that my name is Lizz, not Betty. I look over and it's a petite red-headed boy name TJ O'Brien! We chatted for a few minutes, Ken/Goat Boy showed up, it got weird, we left.

Getting the table to 3e was a pain. We had to take a van-cab and even then, we had to wait for one that would put the seats down to fit it. It's an awesome table. It's actually more of a bar. A great addition to 3e. Friends of 3eTake2, get ready. We are MiXiNg It Up!


I went to Brooklyn this evening and saw Catherine's new place. She made guacamole for us and her roommate, Chris. Chris is adorable, a really sweet guy who is a lot like catherine, except in a much more sweet and mild way. They both really love cats, too and have A LOT of cat paraphernalia around. Chris photocopies the crossword puzzle from the new york times everyday and brings it home from work so they can do it together. Catherine has dinner read for him when he comes home. (Tonight was Mexican night, thus the guacamole, I left before the tacos were ready). Then, they climb into the air mattress that the are currently sharing and watch whatever movie came in netflix that day (tonight was spellbound). The parent is great, too! It's bigger than 3e and they each pay 30% less than us in 3e will be paying this fall.


This month is going to be so busy and wonderful! birthday! wedding! disney world! all in the next week!

man. what a great last night.
too many mimosas', loosing an essay writing contest (what fuckers), THROWING A BEER ON AN ASSHOLE who writes shitty poems, watching fireworks after said throwing of beer, walking across charles bridge, eating delicious european ice cream cones, and attracting creepy czech men with my new lesbian bff-er.

life, man.





see you all so soooooon.

To Do by Tuesday:

1,000 words on Love and its relation to literary art.

7-10 pages on Jews and their lives in bohemia. or anything related to jews and their oppression, basically.

100 word summary on author lectures/old czech men x 10

1 page imitation of kafka's Meditations x 3


AND THEN:

I go home with 7 credits.


I came home at 3pm today to work on all this but instead watched Lost and stalked around on the internet doing things like reading the wall-to-wall's of friends and their exlovers. I also read some stuff about harry potter and JK Rowling. She said that the final book is her favorite. I wonder if finishing the last book felt like a death for her. That's a 17 year relationship and now it's over. Or at least not generating anymore. (generating is a weird word but I've heard it a lot the past few days). I saw some spoilers and it seems like the last book jumps ahead in time? is this true? How do the big HP'ers feel about this?



Fucking John Locke. Every time. Every. single. time. I just cant help it. even after he blows up the submarine. Seeing him, literally paralyzed, being sat down in that wheelchair for the first time, completely discolored and broken. heartbreaking. And depressed and living in that apartment, eating those TV dinners. what a heartbreaker he is. And that father. oh! that father. disgusted. utterly. (ps-I totalllllly called the claire/jack's dad thing. got it!)

Betty was out of control yesterday. She really enjoyed Prague fully, maybe for the first time.

Yesterday was:


all day with Amy. (a decent replacement for jim and betsy).
topless beaches
tram rides
cheap gyros that taste cheap
patricia hampl reading that makes you weep and feel so silly in front of your peers and published authors
picking out spray paint for thursday night antics
following lesbians way way way out of your way in the hopes they are going to a lesbian night. they are not.
hookah with arab men and arab music outside the hotel.


this morning I woke up and my roommate was doing some intense meditating. She was eating something that sounded like rocks. Like, she had a pebble in her teeth and was crunching it while laying in a sort of backwards fetal position. over and over. It was bizarre. I think I did that thing again where I get a really big crush on somebody and then they turn out way not as great as I thought.

10 days!

Lost is really screwing with my sleeping and I am always tired. I stay up till about 1am watching Lost when I have to wake-up at 8. Don't think I fall asleep at 1, though. No, no. At 1, I lay in my shitty bed and think about all the crazy things that have just happened on Lost. It's insane. 2 more episodes of season 2. I didn't watch any today because I was busy.......


Today was a nice day.


Last class with the author Roger Kamenetz. After class he took the 9 of us to lunch. And by took, I mean we all paid.


My Jews in Bohemia class did this "day in the life of kafka" thing. Basically, our professor walked all around prague with us showing us where kafka lived, went to school, worked, is buried, etc. We went outside 3 exhibits on Kafka but did not go in because Professor Tomas Krause believes that are all "just terrible." Krause then took us all to a cafe and bought us tea.

Went to the Ypsilon theatre where I read a story of mine. It went over really well. I was quite nervous. Lilly, the Maude (as in harold and maude) really like it. She's great. She's leaving this weekend, too. After I read, I went and sat back down next to her and she gave me a kiss and said "You've got some real talent, my dear." It made my world. Then she wrote down her contact info and told me to keep in touch! Lilly then continued to get more and more annoyed by the shitty readers and started passing me notes, sighing loudly and leaning over the empty seat and saying to me "I am SO BORED!" It was pretty rude. She's great.

After that was 80's/90's night. A lot of things happened. On a few occasions Jim saved me from creepy czech guys on the dance floor by pretending to be my husband. ::swoon:: Men in black was followed by Kiss followed by bamarama (bamarama?). I drank orange juice at the bar, real Jim style. Took great pictures! Betsy and I realized we have even more things in common besides our birthday. OH! I also revealed to them and Amy that my name is not Betty. They thought it was hilarious.


Other stuff happened too, but I forget what. Oh! I had a meeting with Roger Kamenetz, my professor here, and he told me to seriously think about grad school for creative writing and to start applying for internships. He said he would help me out with getting one. yes!


Tonight at the club, people who I don't even know from the program kept coming up to me and saying how much they enjoyed my reading. It was really cool. After the reading, Jaimy Gordon, a semi-successful author came up to me and was showering me with positive things. It was really fun. I feel a little guilty that I don't really write as much as I should or could. However, I've been writing a lot more here than I ever have and that feels good. okay you don't care about this.

Tonight was fun and I'm glad I wasn't homesick tonight. Tomorrow night is Jim and Betsy's last night. yea. it's going to be a tough one.

I'm going on a trip to Terezin, a labor camp, tomorrow and need to wake-up at 7:30. It's 3am. Again, I have not been sleeping enough.

Dear Jim and Betsy,

I had a lot of fun with you two yesterday. I learned a lot about your families and your politics and really am growing to appreciate you both as people and writers. Remember when Jim missed the last step in tesco and fell down? Man, that was so funny. "I'm still getting used to the architecture here," he said. Haha, I thought I was going to fall down the stairs in laughter!

I want you both to know that I'm not upset anymore that I didn't hear from you all weekend. I'm over it and I understand that you were probably just doing stuff that married 27 year olds do. It's okay that you didn't apologize for not calling or even mention it at all. Maybe you both fell asleep for the entire weekend or just got really busy.

I'm glad we are going to 80's/90's night this Friday night and "The Museum of Miniatures" this Thursday. Seeing that camel pass through the eye of a needle will be marvelous, right Betsy? (LOL!) I'm also happy that you are both coming to hear me read this week. It really means a lot to me. I'm also really happy that you both carry messenger bags that compliment each other in the perfect way -- a way that says "we don't mean to compliment each other, we just do."

I hope it wasn't as awkward as it seemed when my roommate said "Oh, I'm so glad to finally meet you both -- the infamous Betsy and Jim! Betty is enamored!" I don't know why she said that. She was only kidding. I am not enamored, I mean your just fun, ya know?

So, you leave prague/me on Sunday. I think that we should think about meeting up in the states. Maybe you can come visit Amy and me. You know we only live three blocks away from each other? Amy and me that is. Haha, of course you do. But really, it would be fun. We can actually get the "pivo" tattoos on ourselves.

Do you guys think it's a coincidence that Betsy and I have the same birthday?! Do you think it's a coincidence that we are all pisces? I don't. I really, really don't.

I better say goodbye here. My weakening format is representative of my weakening emotional state.

See you tonight; when we hop on the tram to that park. For the last time.

Love,
Betty.
xoxo

ps - your hair looked really nice today, jim. I wanted to tell you, but didn't. I think it was the new shampoo.



__________________________________________________________________________________________________

(nothing else is worth writing about)

I have a toothache. tooth hurty. It's a problem that, for the moment, is being solved with lots of advil. Chinatown dentist doing me dirty with this one.



Tonight I am going to another reading. they just don't end here, it's great. Last night some poets read, including Tom Lux. Tom Lux was great, check him out. http://plagiarist.com/poetry/1807/

tonight is student readings.


after that, I am going to 80's/90's night with Betsy and Jim. Also with Amy, who is in my class. Amy is about 26 and lives on 8th st between b and c. Small world, no? We have plans to be friends in nyc. She isn't a very good writer but is a publicist and hosts lots of cool events in the meat packing district and such. Today she workshopped a piece about air drying on her girlfriends bed after a shower and I didn't giggle, but I was thinking it was funny or something uncomfortable like that, I don't exactly know. What a child I am!

This one time I went to a kfc in prague (stupid) and they were playing arcade fire.


I am so homesick, guys. I think it's depressing me. You're all just so great. (the big 6ish of you who read this)


Brian Smith - you alive?

So let's take a loan out. I'll put it down on a house in a place we've never lived.

I just called Kimberly Townsend. She's twenty one today. Right now, she is sitting in her car outside of Carolyn's house eating lunch with Bobby. It's funny how kids in suburbs across the country tend to do the same things. Except, I've noticed, where Long Beach does things at the beach, Collingswood replaces it with friend's pools. Fair Haven does stuff with Bruce Springsteen's house.


(I wrote the above part of this entry on monday. The rest is on tuesday night)

A lot has happened since my last update. Namely, I am in Prague.

I'll do a list-ish thing, okay?

-When I wake-up in the morning, I begin to load the next episode of Lost. When I come home at the end of the day, it's ready for me. I started this today. After this entry, I am going to go watch boone have his leg amputated! (Oh, I found out in Ghana that he DIES. bloody hell)

-my apartment/dorm/hotel looks a lot like 402 except with 3e style bathrooms and 3 bedrooms and 2 people in each room. My roommate is AMAZING. She is a 26 year old, cooler, more experienced, well traveled, open minded, curly haired gal who meditates every morning (okay- that part freaks me out a little. only when she breathes really loud, though). Today we went to a tibetan tea house. She was just in tibet and we've decorated our room with all the gifts we brought back for people from Africa and Tibet. It's banging. She bought lots of incense and it smells so nice when we light it and open the window up!

-yesterday was the first day of classes. Hey, here is my professor.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodger_Kamenetz he's sort of a big deal. We did two workshops today. The first one (katie, it's the story you read. And yes, it very well could have been written by we-know-who) got rippppped to shreds. Like, terribly. It was a little sad, the girl had never had a workshop before. But, I mean, she's almost 30 and wants to do this with her life. She needs to know. THEN! I went and it was so good. I mean, I was getting embarrassed. He, the professor, said lots of good stuff and loved me in the story. I also got so much smart feedback from him which was really cool. lots of good ideas for improvement and things that in my draft sort of made the character of me seem crazy. I wont give details since most of you haven't read it (elbow grease). Afterwards one of the woman in the program gave me back her copy of my story and said that she "really ripped it apart because it was just great." I think I feel like Kim with the guitar.

-The workshop really blows at the same time because there are 11 of us, soon to be 10 and only 4 of us talk. On top of it only 3 PEOPLE GAVE ME A WORKSHOP. Do you know what that means? It means that only three people wrote comments on my story and gave it back to me. Also, these people aren't really that great of writers. I was really hoping that I would be blown away with the writing and it's terrible. Like, really bad. Two of the good people in the class have dropped it before it even began. I'm annoyed. Hopefully things will improve.

-Kafka and the holocaust are biggggggggg topics here. Today was Kafka's death day, fyi. I went with my jewish studies class (5 of us) to all these jewish historic sights in prague. Did you know that prague had the highest percentage of jews killed in the holocaust?

-Guys, the jews have really had the shitty end of the stick for thousands of years. I mean, I had always heard it and the holocaust, obvs. BUT there is a a hole lot more that they have had to put up with, a lot of which came from the christians.

-Every tuesday morning I get to listen to writers talk about stuff for three hours. It's awesome. This morning two authors talked about Czech history in Literature (kafka and Kundera for almost ever) and "love of a place" THEN every tuesday and thursday I get to go to this awesome theatre (reminds me of the actors studio) and listen to authors read. Those are two of my favorite things that happen at marymount and now it's happening in what feels like a grown-up way. Maybe it's because I drank wine at the reading from a wine glass and not a paper cup. Maybe it's because I didn't steal any of the wine.

-tomorrow my roommate, Devon, and I are going to the US Embassy to see the fireworks!

-OH! This is important in my life. I have befriended a married couple here, BETSY! and Jim. They are 26 and 27. They live in Chicago. I sort of love Jim. The three of us went to Tesco (they sell computers and celery kind of place) and picked out notebooks and folders after the reading tonight. Jim is a high school english teacher who skateboards and wears striped sweaters and big messenger bags. He has really nerdy glasses and is adorable. He is tall and gawky and has hunched shoulders. He can make good pop culture references as well as literary ones. On the train ride back tonight Jim and I talked lots about teaching and I was able to ask him lots and lots of questions. It was quite nice. He knew a lot. We talked about different teaching theories and how he likes this one and doesn't like that one. He's making me want to teach high school english.

-Kim, the tram/metro/bus here is like budapest. You don't need to swipe your ticket to get on BUT their are people that come around and do random checks and if you are caught without your thing, it's a huge fine. Sort of like London, right? Yea, sort of like Paris, too.


I'm too tired to go on. If you get spice girl's tickets, can I come? If you haven't entered the lottery for it go here and do it..... www.thespicegirls.com


more to come!

Okay. I need to go call Alice in a minute. However, I was just packing up and came across Rising Sun, the school newspaper from Prince of Peace, the school I was teaching in in Ghana. Anyway, I just read this article and I loved it. Shaunna, please don't steal this for the NYU paper.

"Marry Your Books"
by:Aurelius Kpodonu

Teenage Pregnancy is happening in our society. Girls of today get pregnant at tender ages of 10 to 15 years. When some get pregnant they become ashamed and try to abort it. Some of them die as they try to abort the unwanted pregnancy. So my advice to the youth of today is that they should marry their books and give birth to success.

fin.

no one told me it was going to be cold everyday in Paris. In fact, I was told it would be hot here. I haven't packed a single pair of pants or a single long sleeved shirt.

This is adding to my feeling of being over Paris.

I'm ready for Prague.

Anyway, today is my last day. I'm going to Arc De triumph and Sacred Heart. I don't know what else.

Tonight I am going out with Alice and her crew.

Yesterday I tried to find Oscar Wilde's grave, but it was in an area that was under construction. I also didn't have a map and had a blister growing on my foot. Maybe I'll go back today. I did see Jim Morisson.

I bought a really great pair of shoes, too! Zebra print strappy sandals. They look like a mix between something catherine and maybeeee Shaunna would wear.

Speaking of Shaunna. Shaunna, you can't win Zonked! till you don't want it anymore. And not in a bitter way, but in a way were winning or loosing doesn't matter. Also, I'm going to Prague for a study abroad workshop in Creative non-fiction. I'll be there till July 26? 28? Then, I will see you on Mike's birthday eve. Then, probably, travel to NJ with you the following day for some wedding thing.

bye all!

people are not updating enough. Let's go.

Here's what happened today:


Well, after I wrote to you last night, I went to sleep only to be stirred awake by 2 hostel roommates coming in and making noise. drunk, I assume. I hadn't met them yet. This was at 2am. SO! They get into their bunk beds. a guy and a girl. Guy proceeds to try and get Girl into his top bunk. Lots of giggling. After about 20 minutes of this whispering Girl tells him that he can come to her bunk. Guy gets in her bunk. They are both in separate vinyl sleeping bags which make weird noises as they rub together. Lots of make-out nosie. Girl says "Okay, stop." Guy stops for a second then starts again. Girl says stop. Girl tells him he has to go to his bunk. Guy doesn't. Guy is quiet. Then, Guy starts kissing her again. This went on till 3:45 when guy finally went to his bunk. It was awkward for me and the 50 year old New Delhi creep guy in the room "sleeping."

I left before they woke-up this morning. BUT! thirty minutes ago Guy comes in! Alone! Girl is nowhere to be seen! Guy is nice, not a creep at all. We chatted and then he climbed up to his bunk and started reading his Harry Potter book with his flashlight. I imagine things were awkward for Guy and Girl today.

Anyway, my life.

Walked around, as usual. Just sort of wandered in an area around here I hadn't been yet.

Walked to Notre Dame, it was faaaaar. Bought ham and cheese on a baguette. That's pretty much all I've eaten here. Then people watched and ate it and drank orangina, my drink of choice here, too. (holla, catherine).

Climbed the spiral stairs to the top of notre dame! It was intense! way tiring. I don't think I would have made it if I hadn't been walking so much in African Rainforest's and such. The gargoyles were awesome. etc etc etc

had my first crepe! I had nutella and coconut! deeeelicious. I had it outside notre dame. It was lovely!

Took the metro back to hostel. napped. met 2 new roomies.

Met Alice and the 4 girls in her program in their hotel. I went to the wrong hotel first and wound up knocking on room 31, what I thought was alice's room, and realizing it was an old woman. woops.

Walked around with Alice and the gang. We were going to have ice cream (glace in french...pronounced glass) but I wound up getting a ham and cheese crepe and orangina. Really, it's all I eat.

went back to Alice's hotel. chatted for about 2 hours. It was almost 11 at this point and so I left. Tomorrow Alice and the gang are learning acrobatics. Like, on a tight rope and stuff!

Not sure if I'm seeing them tomorrow night. But Friday going to a bar with them, which will be fun because it is my last night!

oh! I lost 20 euro today. nothing else is missing and I am worried creepy roommate guy took it. The only time my wallet was not very close to me was when I went to brush my teeth and such for 10 minutes in the hostel before meeting Alice. I had it an hour before that and didn't have it when I looked for it 20 minutes later. He was the only one here. It sucks. I've been really careful, too.

tomorrow I am going to go find Oscar Wilde's grave! No other plans, yet.

Paris keeps getting better and better.

Today was quite cold and I was not dressed for it. However, being cold was nice. You don't sweat an african sweat when it is cold.

I walked around all day. First, I tried to find Sacred Heart Church, but couldn't. I wound up in some little area and just walked around for hours. Then I found a little cafe and sat and had tea and a croissant and read one of the stories for Prague. It was baddddddd. That made me happy. and less feeling inadequate.

THEN! at 6pm I headed to Notre Dame to meet Alice at 8 for Gregorian Chanting. I was very excited. I mean, very. So excited that I left 2 hours before I had to be there. There being 25 minutes away. So, I walked around and waited for Alice in that area. It was nice.

Alice came and I was thrillllllllllllled. I was dying to see someone I knew! We ditched the chant because it was 15 euros and instead walked around and found chinese food to eat. We then went to this quite charming area of Paris and wandered. We went into a french book store and looked at gay erotica, Peanuts, and To Kill a Mockingbird. All in French. We then went to meet 3 of the 5 other people in her program at a bar nearby. They were lovely and wanted to know all about Africa. One of them is going into her sophmore year at mmc. Claire. She's going to be an RA at the V. Did you know this already, Katie? Also, Kim, she said she knows you.

I had to leave by 12:00 because the subway stops running at 12:30. I'm going to hang out with them all again tomorrow evening.

Every day here is better than the last. More or less, every day of this entire trip has been better than the last. Seeing Alice was so good tonight. It was just what the docta ordered. And being called Lizz was weird.

I still only know how to say hello, thank you, pardon, and do you speak english. It's been good though. When shop people and such see me trying to speak french they are friendly and say something in french to me. Then, I laugh back and say pah-le-voo-ahn-glay? And then they usually know a little.


Creepy old guy in the hostel is snoringgggggggggggg.

No plans for tomorrow. I think in the morning I will do a museum since it's the last day I have that expensive museum pass. Then, maybe sit and read more of these workshops for prague by the eiffel tower. Then, Alice and company.

Things are going good. AND I'm spending not much at all!

oh! I decided before getting here that I was not going to buy any gifts in Paris and probably not Prague. And I've done good. Except today I found THE BEST gift for Kitty. It. Is. Perfect. It was the best 9 euros I have ever spent. Essy, in five weeks you are getting such a good little gift!

and I bought the same eiffel tower keychain as Kim. 50 cents. Kim's keychain looks so good with it on there. I've liked it since forever.

no one is ever on AIM anymore.

okay. Goodnight!

Today I ate Fondu for the first time! It was great! I went with mary, a girl from the hostel. We went to some church but it was closing for an hour and a half lunch thing. They do that here, lunch things. So we went to this greek area of Paris and ate fondu and drank Riesling.

Then, we went to Moulin Rouge. What a let down. I didn't even take a picture. Also, creepy guy number three came up to me and creeped me out.

still haven't had a crepe. gotta make all this good stuff last all week.


mary went the airport. Betty went back to the hostel and took a nap. There are two really cute boys in my room. We talked about music. They are from London. They like good music. They died when I said I flew to Georgia to see Arcade Fire. They told me some bands to check out. I think we are going to the moulin rouge area a little later tonight.

2 new girls came into the hostel. sisters. Canadian. Spoiled and high maintenance. I went to dinner with them. I had an omelette and a coke. very nice. met two australians. live music. it was nice.

so, today was a little bit slower day. It's 10pm and just dark now. The hostel has a curfew of 2am and you are not allowed in the hostel between 11 and 4pm. It's not a big deal.

The metro stops running at 12:30. annoying.


OH! It costs 11.50 ($15ish) to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I cannot decide if I should do it or not. It's a rip offfffffffff. opinions?

Also, I am meeting Alice for Gregorian Chant tomorrow night at Notre Dame! I'm really looking forward to it. I really want to see someone from home and be able to talk normally and be called Lizz. yessssss.