Good times at Montclair 646.
What with preparing spaghetti and forgetting the pasta? What with playing the guitar, singing gibberish, writing silly film scripts, acting them, and of course, dancing to Belgian house music?
It takes no more than four... and a bottle of vodka.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Monday, April 2, 2007
Spring Break (part one)
Listen to The Blackadder Theme
It took half a miracle to get me to write another post. A succession of diverse coincidences resulted in a week without any classes (!). First time in weeks I can relax a little.
Yes, I know you're enjoying your two week Easter Break, Belgium, but it's highly unusual not to have classes at this time in America.
It's these industrious Protestants, blame them.
About four weeks ago, I made an unforgettable roadtrip to the West.
Cathy, Kikol and I traveled about 1300 miles (yes, miles) in 8 days. The trip was wonderful, although we had another awkward experience with the Christian Church, only minutes after arriving. We got picked up at Los Angeles airport by friends-of-friends of Kikol’s. They offered us a free dinner, which was gratefully (and somewhat unthinkingly) accepted. Ended up at a sort of meeting, which seemed perfectly normal at first. As dinner evolved into casual conversation, the host suddenly started praising the Lord and wishing he could be very close to Him and hold Him and be one with Him. I thought there was something wrong with him and glanced around for a reassuring nod of the head. Yet the other residents piously closed their eyes and encouraged him with a repetitive Amen. As they promptly worked themselves to an exaltation of sorts, I started feeling increasingly uncomfortable and was trying to draw the attention of our chauffeur. I was so relieved he didn’t make a fuss about us leaving the meeting, although I am sure I didn’t imagine that grimly accusing gaze as we left the building.
LA didn’t really impress me all that much. It’s a vast city and it is hard to get around without a car. It took us three hours to get back from the center to UCLA (university of california, los angeles), which supposedly still is fairly ‘central’ in the city. After two nights of poor sleep – I shared a small college room with two Chinese and a Russian student(s) – we picked up our car – a stylish Chrysler PT Cruiser – and headed for San Diego.
I immediately fell in love with the city. We stayed at a very nice hostel in the Gaslamp District, downtown’s main food and nightlife center. The atmosphere was great, all the more because of the perfectly agreeable weather (San Diego is at the southern border of the States, close to Tijuana). Very much enjoyed our visit to Balboa Park, a park annex museum site in Spanish colonial style. It felt good to be in this “European oasis”, almost felt as home. Got awfully sun burnt though, almost forgot about the sun and its potential there.
Armed with sunscreen, we visited Coronado Beach afterwards. Very nice. Looked like a golden plane. My travel guide informed me that this was caused by some mineral called “Mica” which is scattered all over the beach. We got up early the next day to see Old Town, where historic San Diego is presented in two blocks of open air museum. A couple of old houses were meticulously rebuilt at this site, yet it has a certain “Bokrijk”-feel to it (for those who know the place). Also had my first confrontation with some Mormons, who offered a free bible. Unfortunately, no free meals this time. As we continued our journey to Las Vegas, we passed by a beach town called La Jolla, where we saw seals, pelicans and a squirrel.
The ride to Las Vegas was exhausting. By the time we got there, I was so tired that Sin City felt even more surreal than it probably already is. After seven hours of desert, seeing the lavishly ornamented casinos and their exuberant neon lights feels like entering a strange sort of dream. I’m not talking about the nice dreams, I mean the...................
Ok, this is it for today. It’s taking me a lot of effort to remember the exact details of the trip – even while I am not taking chronology very serious. I will continue this later this week. I promise.
It took half a miracle to get me to write another post. A succession of diverse coincidences resulted in a week without any classes (!). First time in weeks I can relax a little.
Yes, I know you're enjoying your two week Easter Break, Belgium, but it's highly unusual not to have classes at this time in America.
It's these industrious Protestants, blame them.
About four weeks ago, I made an unforgettable roadtrip to the West.
Cathy, Kikol and I traveled about 1300 miles (yes, miles) in 8 days. The trip was wonderful, although we had another awkward experience with the Christian Church, only minutes after arriving. We got picked up at Los Angeles airport by friends-of-friends of Kikol’s. They offered us a free dinner, which was gratefully (and somewhat unthinkingly) accepted. Ended up at a sort of meeting, which seemed perfectly normal at first. As dinner evolved into casual conversation, the host suddenly started praising the Lord and wishing he could be very close to Him and hold Him and be one with Him. I thought there was something wrong with him and glanced around for a reassuring nod of the head. Yet the other residents piously closed their eyes and encouraged him with a repetitive Amen. As they promptly worked themselves to an exaltation of sorts, I started feeling increasingly uncomfortable and was trying to draw the attention of our chauffeur. I was so relieved he didn’t make a fuss about us leaving the meeting, although I am sure I didn’t imagine that grimly accusing gaze as we left the building.
LA didn’t really impress me all that much. It’s a vast city and it is hard to get around without a car. It took us three hours to get back from the center to UCLA (university of california, los angeles), which supposedly still is fairly ‘central’ in the city. After two nights of poor sleep – I shared a small college room with two Chinese and a Russian student(s) – we picked up our car – a stylish Chrysler PT Cruiser – and headed for San Diego.
I immediately fell in love with the city. We stayed at a very nice hostel in the Gaslamp District, downtown’s main food and nightlife center. The atmosphere was great, all the more because of the perfectly agreeable weather (San Diego is at the southern border of the States, close to Tijuana). Very much enjoyed our visit to Balboa Park, a park annex museum site in Spanish colonial style. It felt good to be in this “European oasis”, almost felt as home. Got awfully sun burnt though, almost forgot about the sun and its potential there.
Armed with sunscreen, we visited Coronado Beach afterwards. Very nice. Looked like a golden plane. My travel guide informed me that this was caused by some mineral called “Mica” which is scattered all over the beach. We got up early the next day to see Old Town, where historic San Diego is presented in two blocks of open air museum. A couple of old houses were meticulously rebuilt at this site, yet it has a certain “Bokrijk”-feel to it (for those who know the place). Also had my first confrontation with some Mormons, who offered a free bible. Unfortunately, no free meals this time. As we continued our journey to Las Vegas, we passed by a beach town called La Jolla, where we saw seals, pelicans and a squirrel.
The ride to Las Vegas was exhausting. By the time we got there, I was so tired that Sin City felt even more surreal than it probably already is. After seven hours of desert, seeing the lavishly ornamented casinos and their exuberant neon lights feels like entering a strange sort of dream. I’m not talking about the nice dreams, I mean the...................
Ok, this is it for today. It’s taking me a lot of effort to remember the exact details of the trip – even while I am not taking chronology very serious. I will continue this later this week. I promise.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Friday night encounter
[listen to anything]
She's just a girl.
She's just a girl.
She's just a girl.
Oohf!
Turn around.
Eyes.
Contact.
Yes!
The elbow. Shock, spine and upwards.
Something wraps itself around my stomach. Squeezes.
What now?
Say something. Anything.
Cigarette, offer her a cigarette.
Yes.
Lighter. Of course.
Closer.
Not that close.
Smooth.
The elbow, again.
The initials, remember the initials. A, M, D… no A, then D, then N. No. Fuck. Stay concentrated. A, D, then M, definitely ADM.
Make her promise.
Make her promise.
Will she?
Yes, she will.
She will.
She's just a girl.
She's just a girl.
She's just a girl.
Oohf!
Turn around.
Eyes.
Contact.
Yes!
The elbow. Shock, spine and upwards.
Something wraps itself around my stomach. Squeezes.
What now?
Say something. Anything.
Cigarette, offer her a cigarette.
Yes.
Lighter. Of course.
Closer.
Not that close.
Smooth.
The elbow, again.
The initials, remember the initials. A, M, D… no A, then D, then N. No. Fuck. Stay concentrated. A, D, then M, definitely ADM.
Make her promise.
Make her promise.
Will she?
Yes, she will.
She will.
Monday, February 19, 2007
New York - Spring Break
[listen to Interpol – Next Exit]
Time for a quick update. I’ve been awfully busy lately. Feel like I’m constantly engaged in finding a way to do as much as I can in as little time as possible. Would be nice being able to invent time. To create it. Or to buy it, for that matter!
Went to New York for a weekend. Absolutely loved it. Found myself drunk on Manhattan static the moment I stepped out of the bus station, after a sleepy two hours drive. The city is electricity, it breathes energy. I thought I wouldn’t be as impressed as I was seven years ago, but it just knocked me over. I probably exaggerate now, but there certainly were a couple of moments in which I became delirious with Manhattan’s drive.
Had the much appreciated company of Tom, who came visiting me for ten days. He managed to find us free accommodation at a friend of the family’s place in Queens. The friend wasn’t there herself, but her roommate (a considerably hot art student) was so nice as to let us stay for three nights.
Unfortunately, I had little time to recuperate from the trip. A week’s reading lay ahead of me on Sunday afternoon. Wish I had blogged the same day! Have forgotten half of what I did, and won’t manage to give as vivid an impression as I would have a week ago. In any case, it was extremely cold. Since Tom and I spent most of our time walking considerable distances between downtown and uptown Manhattan, I literally suffered frostbites on my (nevertheless fairly praiseworthy) legs.
Needless to say, there has been a fair amount of parties in the past twenty days. Don’t have any savoury details to tell, however, despite some controversial pictures that found their way to the internet.
One of the parties celebrated the occasion of Cathy attaining the legal drinking age (happy birthday Cathy!). The party was at our place and involved beer, vodka, sake and some strange blue liquid. Result: part of China got hilariously drunk.
Have been planning Spring Break, by the way. Looks very promising: roadtrip from L.A. to Phoenix, passing through San Diego, Las Vegas and Grand Canyon! I’m already regretting it won’t be longer than a week…
Time for a quick update. I’ve been awfully busy lately. Feel like I’m constantly engaged in finding a way to do as much as I can in as little time as possible. Would be nice being able to invent time. To create it. Or to buy it, for that matter!
Went to New York for a weekend. Absolutely loved it. Found myself drunk on Manhattan static the moment I stepped out of the bus station, after a sleepy two hours drive. The city is electricity, it breathes energy. I thought I wouldn’t be as impressed as I was seven years ago, but it just knocked me over. I probably exaggerate now, but there certainly were a couple of moments in which I became delirious with Manhattan’s drive.
Had the much appreciated company of Tom, who came visiting me for ten days. He managed to find us free accommodation at a friend of the family’s place in Queens. The friend wasn’t there herself, but her roommate (a considerably hot art student) was so nice as to let us stay for three nights.
Unfortunately, I had little time to recuperate from the trip. A week’s reading lay ahead of me on Sunday afternoon. Wish I had blogged the same day! Have forgotten half of what I did, and won’t manage to give as vivid an impression as I would have a week ago. In any case, it was extremely cold. Since Tom and I spent most of our time walking considerable distances between downtown and uptown Manhattan, I literally suffered frostbites on my (nevertheless fairly praiseworthy) legs.
Needless to say, there has been a fair amount of parties in the past twenty days. Don’t have any savoury details to tell, however, despite some controversial pictures that found their way to the internet.
One of the parties celebrated the occasion of Cathy attaining the legal drinking age (happy birthday Cathy!). The party was at our place and involved beer, vodka, sake and some strange blue liquid. Result: part of China got hilariously drunk.
Have been planning Spring Break, by the way. Looks very promising: roadtrip from L.A. to Phoenix, passing through San Diego, Las Vegas and Grand Canyon! I’m already regretting it won’t be longer than a week…
Library
[listen to Midlake – Van Occupanther]
Practically live at the library lately, out of sheer necessity of human proximity. How I long for the warming sensation of that casual bodily touch, that stolen smile!
Mind this, by no means am I trying to sound desperate or anything; I just know I need it.
(Don’t want to get in that messy business of making myself completely understood. I don’t expect no deep, fundamental apprehension of each other’s inner selves; no mutual understanding of our lonely souls.)
Practically live at the library lately, out of sheer necessity of human proximity. How I long for the warming sensation of that casual bodily touch, that stolen smile!
Mind this, by no means am I trying to sound desperate or anything; I just know I need it.
(Don’t want to get in that messy business of making myself completely understood. I don’t expect no deep, fundamental apprehension of each other’s inner selves; no mutual understanding of our lonely souls.)
Monday, January 29, 2007
Haircut
.
[listen to Uncle Tupelo - Graveyard Shift]
.
Forgot to mention that I had my hair cut last night. Michelle and Esther, thank you so much! It really doesn't look so bad at all. Feel sorry about Esther - she cut her finger.
Was happy to see the first real snowfall yesterday night. Made a baby snowman at Helen's, who had made an excellent red bean soup. Xie xie!
[listen to Uncle Tupelo - Graveyard Shift]
.
Forgot to mention that I had my hair cut last night. Michelle and Esther, thank you so much! It really doesn't look so bad at all. Feel sorry about Esther - she cut her finger.
Was happy to see the first real snowfall yesterday night. Made a baby snowman at Helen's, who had made an excellent red bean soup. Xie xie!
Philadelphia
.
21 days of pure, unsalted American life.
Body and mind?
Still ok.
I think.
.
Preliminary remark.
Face it. Blogging is for people with too much time on their hands. Unfortunately, I am in no such position… So, my dear readers, I trust you will excuse me for being at once late with and incoherent in my writings.
Made a very nice trip to Philadelphia last saturday. Almost arrived late for the bus, weren’t it for my roommate Ben, who woke me in the middle of a (irrelevantly saucy) dream. Ate a banana, took two Perdolans to lighten my hungover head and off I went.
A little over an hour later, Philly greeted us with its impressive skyline. (Thought this sentence would suit a travel blog.)
China, Mexico, Japan and me went straight for water (the consequence of the party I will talk about later) and lunch in a lively roof-topped food market. I loved it, for some reason. Loved the hustle-bustle, the activity, even the smell, and found myself surprisingly tolerant towards other people. I had one of those ‘intercultural’ moments, I think. Ate at a buffet with an elderly black women to the right, and Esther (China) to the left of me. Nice buffet. Nice conversation. Nice, happy Esther.
Walked several miles (yes, miles) through the city. Philly is clean, with wide sidewalks and an overall spacious feel. The architecture is fascinating, even the historical buildings (which I always thought unconvincing copies of European models) impressed me. I got surprised several times; by subtle and funny decorations, by enormous paintings clad against blind apartment walls, by ‘postmodern’ art - which for the first time in my life didn’t feel displaced at all. I will try to put some pictures on this blog, some things just have to be shown.
Final destination of the walk was the Museum of Art, for which we arrived late. Didn’t bother me at all. I was still loving everyone and everything around me. (Might have to do something with those two Perdolans?) China and Mexico took some very nice pictures of Philly, standing on top of the stairs leading to the Museum of Art. By the way, those stairs reminded me a lot of that powerful scene in “Rocky”; can any of my well-educated readers confirm that it was actually shot in Philly?
Reunited with Japan and part of China, we went for dinner in Chinatown. Managed the chop-sticks fairly well. (To those who were present: I really did manage those chop sticks well. It was all acting.)
I’m getting too chronological again. You don’t like chronology, don’t you, reader?
Yes, I’ll talk about that party.
It was great fun.
By the way
Made vegetable soup the other day.
Tastes like vegetable.
It’s terrible.
21 days of pure, unsalted American life.
Body and mind?
Still ok.
I think.
.
Preliminary remark.
Face it. Blogging is for people with too much time on their hands. Unfortunately, I am in no such position… So, my dear readers, I trust you will excuse me for being at once late with and incoherent in my writings.
Made a very nice trip to Philadelphia last saturday. Almost arrived late for the bus, weren’t it for my roommate Ben, who woke me in the middle of a (irrelevantly saucy) dream. Ate a banana, took two Perdolans to lighten my hungover head and off I went.
A little over an hour later, Philly greeted us with its impressive skyline. (Thought this sentence would suit a travel blog.)
China, Mexico, Japan and me went straight for water (the consequence of the party I will talk about later) and lunch in a lively roof-topped food market. I loved it, for some reason. Loved the hustle-bustle, the activity, even the smell, and found myself surprisingly tolerant towards other people. I had one of those ‘intercultural’ moments, I think. Ate at a buffet with an elderly black women to the right, and Esther (China) to the left of me. Nice buffet. Nice conversation. Nice, happy Esther.
Walked several miles (yes, miles) through the city. Philly is clean, with wide sidewalks and an overall spacious feel. The architecture is fascinating, even the historical buildings (which I always thought unconvincing copies of European models) impressed me. I got surprised several times; by subtle and funny decorations, by enormous paintings clad against blind apartment walls, by ‘postmodern’ art - which for the first time in my life didn’t feel displaced at all. I will try to put some pictures on this blog, some things just have to be shown.
Final destination of the walk was the Museum of Art, for which we arrived late. Didn’t bother me at all. I was still loving everyone and everything around me. (Might have to do something with those two Perdolans?) China and Mexico took some very nice pictures of Philly, standing on top of the stairs leading to the Museum of Art. By the way, those stairs reminded me a lot of that powerful scene in “Rocky”; can any of my well-educated readers confirm that it was actually shot in Philly?
Reunited with Japan and part of China, we went for dinner in Chinatown. Managed the chop-sticks fairly well. (To those who were present: I really did manage those chop sticks well. It was all acting.)
I’m getting too chronological again. You don’t like chronology, don’t you, reader?
Yes, I’ll talk about that party.
It was great fun.
By the way
Made vegetable soup the other day.
Tastes like vegetable.
It’s terrible.
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