Stress

I love this picture. I took it over Spring Break during the last year of my BA. I was incredibly stressed out... I was working frantically on my thesis so I could finish on time. It was the first day of the year that was warm enough for the snow to melt, so some of my friends and I decided to go play Frisbee outside. I can't throw a Frisbee worth a lick, but we still had fun (and got covered in slush).

Then we started playing on the swingset, and I snapped a couple pictures just for fun.



I'm really stressed out right now... Exams are in a month, and I haven't been able to devise a good study plan. I have two study-intensive exams (and four not-study-intensive exams), and I just can't focus on them. If anyone has some good study strategies to impart, I would appreciate it.

Naughty Kitty!

I was reminded of this story today when I saw a little girl with candy in the checkout line at the grocery store.

I was a (mostly) good girl when I was little. I tried to do what I was supposed to, rarely lied and never stole. One day my mom and I were at Tom Thumb, and I saw these in the checkout lane:



And I just had to have them! So I asked my mom, and she said no. In addition to being a (mostly) good girl, I was also a very smart little girl. I knew it was wrong to steal, so when my mom wasn't looking, I got a packet of Chiclets and stuck it under the rest of our food on the conveyor belt.

I thought I was home free when the cashier scanned them and put them in the bag without my mom noticing. We got home and I managed to sneak them into my room... yes! I was going to be able to eat my Chiclets later that night.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize that my mom was in the habit of double-checking her receipts once we got home to make sure that everything rang up at the right price... Busted!

(But not before I ate them.)

Zattoo

I finally have TV, thanks to Zattoo. Yay!

European TV is weird, y'all. It's a mix of current and past American shows, spinoffs of American shows, and a very few European shows, half of which have to be dubbed into French. This week I have watched: CSI (Las Vegas, Miami and New York), NCIS, House, Murder She Wrote, Friends, The Bold and the Beautiful, Le Destin de Lisa (the German version of Ugly Betty), French versions of Wheel of Fortune, The Weakest Link, and 1 vs. 100, and a random Canadian comedy about the Mounties. I think the only truly Swiss TV show is the news...

One of these days, somebody is going to explain to me why "Murder, She Wrote" is called "Arabesque" in French.

Yum!

I've had a fairly rotten weekend, so I made some chocolate buttercream icing to cheer myself up. It's very easy... you beat a stick of softened butter and 2 pounds of powdered sugar together, adding a few tablespoons of milk to keep the sugar from blowing everywhere. Then add a tablespoon of vanilla and 8 oz of melted baking chocolate and voilà! Chocolate buttercream icing.

I bought lots of yummy food at the grocery store today... some grapes and bananas, bell pepper and mozzarella for omelettes, and chicken quarters and green beans to cook for tomorrow's dinner. That's going to be my reward for getting all my translation theory notes in order.

Speaking of translation theory... I will be so grateful if I pass that class. We are only halfway through the semester, and already I can't keep all the different theories straight. I am so glad that this is the last theory class I have to take!

It's raining again. Right on schedule... it has rained during the Garden Party for the past five years at least! The theme this year was (quite appropriately) "Let it Rain". They have a good sense of humour.

And yes, I took my daily walk/run in the rain.