Friends...
Showing posts with label Leslie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leslie. Show all posts
Day 318 | Wednesday, November 11 | 2009
To and From the Library...Secondly, I got to talk to Dale today and it brightened up my morning. It's been a while since we've caught up and it really makes me feel good when I get the chance to talk to him -- I think he has become my hero in so many ways but he is also a good friend that always carefully listens to me. I love you Dale! One day, when I save up money and frequent flyer miles, I want to come visit you in Taiwan.
Thirdly, Caitlin got her computer back today -- repaired for free! This is great news because she was about ready to pay $840 to have it repaired and then Leslie advised me and Caitlin that we should go to the Genius Bar at the Apple Store in Columbus to try and refute the repair costs. After all, Caitlin's computer is only about a year old and shouldn't be having major issues with the logic board at this point. When we went to the Apple Store on Friday, Caitlin and I seemed a little discouraged if it would all work out at all -- it seemed like the way things were going Caitlin would still have to pay money to have her computer repaired. It was such a great feeling today though to receive word that there was a package from FedEx waiting for her at her room. It was an even better feeling to get back to the room and open up the package and see her computer inside.
Day 314 | Saturday, November 7 | 2009
Good Friends...In better news, I played soccer this morning and it was a lot of fun -- I scored a goal even.
Caitlin and I got a quick bite to eat with Evan and Leslie too, which was nice! Here is a picture of us at lunch. Caitlin was telling a joke but I don't remember what it was. I just wish that I didn't feel like I was so busy.
Day 301 | Sunday, October 25 | 2009
Soccer Players...Last night was part fun, part awkward, and part upsetting. It was a nice get together to see Boaz off (he's returning back to New York today) and about twenty people came over for dinner. The food went off well -- we had the Romanian feast I had made before but this time Leslie, Caitlin, Casey and Sarah helped out a lot and made everything possible. The awkward parts of the night were when Boaz kept on insulting Leslie. By now, I've sort of gotten used to Boaz poking fun at Leslie but somehow things just didn't seem right this time. It seemed like something deeper was going on. I could see Leslie trying to reach out to Boaz to try to communicate how she is going to miss him and how much of a friend he was to her and it was a little surprising to see him act so callously rude to her. It was as if he didn't really consider her to be a true friend -- or at least a friend that he valued very much. It all escalated as the night went on and eventually turned into a full-blown argument. Supposedly the two have been arguing online today and it saddens me to see two very good friends be so upset at one another. I can understand pieces of where each of the two are coming from but what I can't understand is both person's inability to reconcile with the other -- particularly Boaz. I wish things weren't so messed up right now.
Regardless, I have lots of work I should be doing (particularly a PowerPoint presentation that is due tomorrow that I just found out about) and I am going to get on it.
Day 300 | Saturday, October 24 | 2009
Halloween Time...After groceries, I went and played a game of soccer and it was a really good game. We started off losing 3-0 and there was about 15 minutes left to play. Somehow, our team rallied and scored four goals in the remaining time to totally turn the game around and win 4-3. It was great. I mean, it would have been fun too even if we would have lost but it was really fun to win a game for a change. I think our record is now 1-1. We have a game tomorrow morning too to make up one of the games that was rained out.
Anyway, I'm about to get ready to make a bunch of food. Here is a picture on my way to go play soccer this morning.
Oh yeah...this is the 300th entry of Beans with Garlic. I'm kind of surprised that it's lasted this long.
Day 298 | Thursday, October 22 | 2009
Gold Day...Class in the morning, afternoon, and evening and then Reflections tonight with Boaz. It's sort of sad to see Boaz leave but I feel like maybe it's just his time. Leslie and I are throwing him a going away party on Saturday and it should be a good time.
I took this photo on my walk to school. Come this time next week (or the week after) the leaves will probably be gone.
Day 287 | Sunday, October 11 | 2009
Good Friends...Today was nice to take a small break and have lunch with Leslie and Evan. I really like Leslie and Evan because they make me feel relaxed and that nothing is as bad as it really seems. They just want to listen to me and cradle me like the baby that I am. They are really unassuming people and I am lucky to have them as friends.
I am also so lucky to have Caitlin. Today she helped me so much with my presentations and helped me when I felt discouraged and I do not know what I would do without her.
Day 278 | Friday, October 2 | 2009
The night was also special because of the great people that were there -- Leslie, Dan, Mauricio, Boaz, Sam, and Caitlin. We all sat down while we ate our dinner and shared some sort of item, thought, or memory with the rest of the group. Boaz elected to 'share' me with the group by playing a few songs on guitar and I couldn't refuse. It was about that moment when Larry came over (some of his friends then soon followed thereafter). I chose to share a short film by Mitchell Rose called Elevator World which I find particularly hilarious. Go to www.mitchellrose.com for videos. Caitlin chose to share the video from her blog of a man reading a Rumi poem, Leslie gave out cards that she had made for everyone and read a piece of her own, Mauricio shared some tokens that were important to him and explained some of his valuable memories, Sam shared a poem by T.S. Elliot, and Dan performed an absolutely mind-blowing presentation of the didgeridoo. The didgeridoo is an Australian instrument (created by native Aborigines I believe) that resonates with a constant low-pitched din. What was surprising about the way Dan played the instrument, though, was that he was able to do imitable sounds through the instrument while circularly breathing. He played for about 3 or 4 minutes straight, while intermittently interpreting the careful sonic nuances of the bark of a dingo, or the squeal of some animal one might find while strolling the Australian Outback. While Dan was playing, I looked around and noticed that everyone's jaw in the room was practically drooped all the way down the floor in amazement. Of course Dan couldn't see this because he had his eyes coolly shut, sitting like Budha on my living room floor with a five foot instrument jutting out of his mouth as if he were talking through the trunk of a tree.
Day 271 | Friday, September 25 | 2009
Romanian Feast!..Tonight Caitlin, Leslie, and I got together for our weekly meal. I made Romanian Pilaf and Romanian Bean Mash. It turned out really great! It was all vegan too :)
Life is good and there are some exciting things that are about to happen. Dad comes tomorrow for the afternoon and the next week is sure to be great.
Day 265 | Saturday, September 19 | 2009
Listen, OK?... We know movies...Today has been a mix of feelings of strength and exuberance and times of weakness and lethargy. Last night was great -- Caitlin and I went and saw Taking Woodstock and we made dinner beforehand. It was a so-so movie but just going out and relaxing was a nice change.
Today we both worked a lot on stuff, had lunch with Evan, and then had a really great dinner with Leslie. She made us a really good butternut squash / apple casserole with a lentil soup -- so good that I got the recipe for later. It was a hit. After that, we sat around and talked for a little bit about music and movie snobbery and our experiences with it. Music and movie snobbery starts (almost always) with having a 'normal' conversation with someone and then meandering toward a ground of music or film. Oh, you like Neutral Milk Hotel? Well then you must have heard of ______'s album then. Oh, ... you haven't heard of The _____. (snob then ignores the 'less cool' person). This could be just one example of a conversation involving music snobbery and could also be applied to film too (just change band names with names of actors, directors, etc.) In either case, the snob uses the name drop as a honing device -- a way for the snob to know precisely where you stand on their own internalized map of coolness. If you keep answering the question right (if you keep saying that you have heard of the snob's bands) then you will go far.
Anyway, Caitlin and Leslie and I thought we would try to pose with some of my more 'hipster indie' films that I own to pay tribute to this snobbery. (Or at least mock it). Snob expressions and all.
Day 165 | Saturday, June 13 | 2009
Just Married...Today we attended a wonderful after-wedding reception at the Steinmiller's house. After staying up the night before until 4:30 AM with my Uncle Jim, Dale and Leslie, I was too tired to stay awake during this party. I stole away and took a nap in Gretchen's room for a little over an hour. When I woke up, pretty much everyone was gone.
I forgot to say yesterday that I got to see Dale and Leslie at the wedding and they ended up staying in the hotel with us. It was so nice to see Dale (I hadn't seen him for almost two years) and seeing Leslie was so great too. They are two of my closest friends and I am lucky to be in the company of such good people.
Día 154 | Martes, 2 de Junio | 2009
Guayasamin...Oswaldo Guayasamin is probably Ecuador's most famous artist. Today our group went to Capilla del Hombre -- the largest of collections of Guayasamin's works and also the site of his house and his burial (his ashes were spread underneath a giant tree near his house). His house overlooks a giant museum/gallery where a lot of his works are hung.
This is a quote of Guayasamin (at least to my knowledge). The english translation is "I would cry when I didn't have shoes until I saw a child who didn't have feet." I remember seeing this picture from Dale's Ecuador photos but seeing it today was really striking.
Speaking of Dale, I wish I were in Athens tonight to hang out with him, Leslie, and Caitlin. I can't wait to be home.
Día 100 | Jueves, el 9 de Abril | 2009
Jueves Santo...Today has been perfect. I am feeling much better about a lot of things. I got the chance to talk to Dale, Caitlin and Leslie -- three of my favorite people in the world.
Plus, today is Beans with Garlic's 100-day anniversary.
Feeling good :)
Day 63 | Tuesday, March 3 | 2009
Pierogi...Alas, I am caught up on my sleep and I am back at it. I did not get some of my papers in on time to my professors on Monday so I am trying to finish the rest right now. I probably should have turned them in already today but by this point I am just trying to aim for quality completion.
I realized today that I leave in three weeks for Ecuador. This seems really unreal. What's going to seem even more unreal with be the actual day -- March 24 -- that I actually do leave to Ecuador. I still have a various list of items that I need to realize still but it's getting closer. I still need to find out about malaria pills, complete some formalized membership canceling (cancel my cable service, clean out my locker at the gym, etc.), get my belongings together, read a book and write a report for my field study, read two books (or at least get started) and plan my independent study, purchase an external hard drive, and get well acquainted with my portable digital recorder.
Because I have been so busy, I have forgotten to mention that my Nagra ARES-MII came in the mail this past Friday! I am really excited about it all. It came well equipped with a USB 2.0 input cord, a shock-resistant stereo (cardioid) condenser microphone, a mono (omni) condenser cap, two wind guards, a XLR adaptable input cord, a protective case, and a cool wrist sling. I have used it already just minimally but it sounds great. Also, my 10' mono hydrophone came in the mail on Friday too. This is basically a microphone that can record SPL movements underwater. This will be especially useful when I am collecting data from some of the Ecuadorian water sheds -- rivers, streams, waterfalls, etc. I am so excited!
Today has been a pretty good day, all in all. Caitlin and I went to vegan cooking and it was delicious. It was great to hang out with Larry and Annie too. I feel like the setup for vegan cooking is not fair sometimes, because I feel like sitting down and talking with a lot of people. I really wanted to hang out and talk to Leslie, Jamie, Ellen, and Clare but the seating was all cramped and space is just limited in that room. The food, though, was great. It was all Ukrainian style food -- pierogi (mashed potatoes inside a noodle-like shell), salad, rice-stuffed cabbage wraps, this really great beet-based soup, a delicious dessert (I don't remember what it was), and a neat lavender-tasting drink. I got a picture of the cooks making the pierogies in the kitchen (above) before they were done.
Great day!
Day 58 | Thursday, February 26 | 2009
Through the Looking Glass...It's been a pretty good day. My Documentary Genres class went well -- we watched a film about the Vietnam War called The World of Charlie Company. Great film. It's particularly interesting to see the composition of the origin and later development of mutiny amid the soldiers in the movie.
This weekend could turn out to be a perfect storm in terms of work load. I have a 6-8 page paper in Personal Values in Media to do, a 6-8 page paper in Spanish American Civilization and Culture to do, and an additional 2 page paper in Spanish to do also! On top of all that I have committed to perform on Saturday and I also have to perform for University Band on Sunday too. What a headache!
Oh well...good thing is that none of this stress matters. I still have people in my life that are so important to me. For example, ... take a good look at these lovely ladies (pictured above). I took this photo of them while I was walking around the Café Biblio-tech on the library's second floor. I like how Caitlin's earnest face seems to say This is me; this is how I truly am and, at the same time, Leslie's face hints at a voice that would seem to say Hee hee; I'm up to no good!
Speaking of important people, .. my brother Dustin finished his New York Bar Exam yesterday. I am so very proud of him. He has worked so hard for the past 3 or so years and I am hugely impressed by his accomplishments. I wish I could be in New York to congratulate him on a job well done, regardless of if he passed the Bar or not.
Well...I am tired and I think it's time to go to bed.
Day 9 | Friday, January 9 | 2009
Moku Coffee...There is a new coffee shop on West Union street -- all the way down towards where the Habitat for Humanity House is located. The coffee shop is nice. It has a comfortable ambience and a wonderful view of the Hocking River and White's Mill.
Caitlin and I met today with Leslie who is such a wonderful person through and through. We spent some time talking about her recent trip to India and then also Caitlin and I talked about our recent trip to Switzerland. I am amazed at some of the implications of Leslie's stories. It makes me feel lucky to be so privileged in comparison to many of the people that live in abject poverty.
Most of all, though, it was just nice to spend time with a friend.
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