Catsupping Up.

Been a while. Of course.

Let me begin with this: Minnesota is currently beautiful. Absolutely.

I basked unabashedly in the sun on Tuesday. After acquiring a blackberry lemonade, I strolled down behind Coffman onto the East River Flats, and parked myself on a bench to journal and have a discussion with God about ants and sticks and sun. I didn't even feel like I was in Minneapolis, there by the river and woods. After a good forty-five minutes, I strolled up to the bus stop, humming the lullaby from Pan's Labyrinth, which I was watching throughout the day, and adore. If you have no seen it/heard this tune, I suggest you do both.It puts me in my happy fairy tale place, which is rare indeed, and hauntingly beautiful.

Creepy little pretty thing, it is.


At the bus stop, I sat and watched the world go by. Buses rolling by, cop cars gathering up Washington, people everywhere.

Then, when the 16 rolled up, a man came blasting down the stairs, roaring at the top of his lungs "HOLD THAT BUS! HOLD THAT BUS!" I assumed that poor dude was late for something, but as he climbed on the bus, for some reason the bus driver wouldn't let him on. He stepped on, swore, and as he did, a cop car pulled up behind the bus, and two officers bolted out, saw him, and exclaimed "Up the stairs!", which is where he was running at this point. I watched them chase him up there, and then they disappeared. Later, I decided to ditch my bus and walk, and noticed that it looked like they'd caught him behind Kolthoff and Smith halls.Ta da.

So, I strolled away, and almost got run over in the mall by Goldie Gopher on his U of M Segway. What?

Seriously, my day felt like some giant trip at this point


The rest of the week had it's ups and downs. On Thursday night, my drawing class sat in the mall for four hours, first drawing buildings as the sun went down, and then parking ourselves there until ten at night to do a white charcoal drawing on black paper. It was fun, but my eyes hurt the next day. Bleh.

Saturday consisted of business, like early morning art, MOA, and a 3.5 hour opera with Abby Zilka and the rest of the gang here. "Die Zauberflote" or, "The Magic Flute" is probably one of the silliest things I have ever seen, in a good way. Mozart just had a funny way of telling stories. The audience laughed at places I don't this we were supposed to, but the English translation from the German was sometimes so undramatic, it was funny. I hadn't really been to an official opera before, so this was pretty sweet.


And yesterday, I went to the last CB Productions show that my sister would be in in high school. It was grood. Very grood.



And now, today, is the 19th of April. Do you have any idea what this means?



WE GET TO MEET LINUS FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAAAAAAAY!!!!



I'm getting picked up after French to go to the airport and pick up our little Alaskan Malamute puppy, who is flying in from Ohio. Um....EXCITED.

And bewildered. It's almost unbelievable.





So, I should go, now that I have caught myself up....again.



The next time I write, I will be a lovestruck mess :)


Audios.





Songs of the week:


Long, Long Time Ago from Pan's Labyrinth

Hafsol by Sigur Rós

Hljómalind by Sigur Rós

Grow Till Tall by Jónsi

So much. Chew slowly.

Well, looks like I've avoided this again for a week. Not sure why, as I have been thinking about it, but time is scarce. And so is motivation.

Since last Tuesday, things have happened. A lot of things. First off, Lucie, Leslie, and myself, trekked over to Ben & Jerry's for some free ice cream. It was fantastic out. I felt like I was on vacation, with the warm evening sun, crowds of people, loud music, ice cream, and chums. Ahh.

The weather lately has been PRIME. It's 70 degrees out right now.

Mom came to visit me on Friday, and we hung out and walked about. She brought good news, too! We've decided on what puppy we're getting!

This is Linus Sherman, a little malamute from Ohio. He's flying in on April 19th.

Oh. Man. We're excited.

GAAH!

So, yes. She brought good news. And new clothing. Thanks, mom.

On Saturday I had to get up at 8 AM to draw some nude model at 9. Oh joy. This naked business is getting on my nerves. Sure, I'm learning. But I'd rather learn with more than flesh in front of me. Eh.

But as I was drawing, I indulged in looking down at my iPod and watching this video.

'Memory' by Zoot Woman

It is relaxing, though, to get up in the morning, and the first thing you must do is art. Not a bad deal, I guess. Doesn't take a lot of academic brain cell usage.

The rest of the weekend was rather uneventful, and that is ok.

My oral exam partner and I basically butchered the French language on Monday, which ended up being absolutely hilarious. We almost died of laugher afterwards. If you had been allowed to witness this exam, you would see to harrowed beings exclaiming in French "Hello! What's you're name?! I'm Heather! Are you ok today?! Yes! What is your hometown like?! What are you doing next weekend?! Where is the post office?!" and so on. It was frantically funny. We were sorta prepared, but once we got into that room....voomp. All my knowledge just left.

Golly gee.

I calmed down enough later to trek over to the mall with Leslie, Rachel, and Lucie to soak up the last rays of sunlight before dinner. It was so pleasant that after French yesterday, I got myself some Jamba Juice, and lay in the warm sun in the grass, with the strong wind off the river blowing in my face. Bliss, I tell you. I was having of a nonsensically rough day, so that was just what I needed. Me, and several hundred other people. Everyone takes communal naps in the mall now.

(this is apparently on a not-so-crowded day...it was absolutely swarming with students yesterday)

So, I have taken to riding the bus very little now that the weather has improved. I love strolling over the river with the wind in my hair. I can't even bring myself to wear headphones because I need to just soak in the spring air around me. I got dive-bombed by a butterfly the other day, and the birds have been singing up a storm. Geese are chillin' on the Bohemian Flats down by the river, and seagull have been soaring over the bridge.

Yes, the Bohemian Flats. Lucie and I went down there the other day, and as she climbed the hill to explore under the shoe tree, I read the signs in the park to learn about the area. Turns out, the big, flat expanses below the bridge used to be a neighborhood back in the late 1800's-the early 1900's. Ethnicities such as Danish, Finnish, Slavic, Polish, and whatever else moved in down there. Each year when the river flooded, homes floated downstream, and one family just kept on eating and sleeping and living as they drifted off (apparently the homes had no foundations....go figure).

But the city finally said they wanted the land for the shipping industry, so over 50 foreclosure notices popped up. by 1939, the town was basically gone. The only thing left was the wooden stairs that went up to the West Bank, and those were demolished in 2001.

Sad.

Today as I came back from class, I heard a lot of sirens, and saw droves of people at the end of the bridge. Apparently there was a bike accident, whether one or 2 people, I don't know, but one of the guys was on the ground, having a major seizure that lasted a long, long time. There were about 8 officers and firemen, and eventually the paramedics showed up. I was glad that a hospital is right next to my dorm, so he didn't have far to go once they got him in the ambulance. I hope he's ok.

Well, I think I've blabbed long enough. I am tired. Nap time. Meeting time. Stupid class time. Homework time.

Bah.

Audios.

Song of the Week

Cloud Nine by Ben Howard

SPRANG IS HERE (also known as, "The guy was like a little rockstar, the jerk.")

Today is beautiful.

snow dying

river running

people basking

birds talking

bikes zipping

grass thriving

flowers coming

brains farting.

I cannot concentrate at all today, and I have a paper to conjure up before the morrow.

But I will not worry myself over this, because today is beautiful.

I just went on a walk in a pair of old shoes I found. I like walks. We (this being myself and the shoes) walked across the West Bank, over the bridge, around the mall past Northrop, and back.

It was bliss in its cheapest form.

Walking without headphones in makes one's world a lot bigger. This might seem like an obvious statement, but I rarely have them out of my ears when I walk. This is because, when you're going to class, you have to get yourself in the zone, and enjoy being your own little academically-focused unit, while still retaining your sanity.

But today, even though things are a bit pressing, they should never be so suffocating that one cannot step outside and have all their cares ripped off their shoulders for a time.

And that was this afternoon.

The river has had a very decent amount foam in it this week, and I don't know why that is. But it looks rather like a root beer float.

Walking along the bridge burdenless was weird. I mean, even having my backpack on without a coat today was weird. But carrying absolutely nothing feels weirder. And very freeing. I felt like I was on vacation, due to the sights and smells of the day.

The mall was a real treat. It feels absolutely weird to all of a sudden see it filled with people. It's like a chunk of my life is missing, because when I left for break, the snow was still hanging around, and now that I'm back, spring is oozing through the cracks. I feel like I missed something.

One thing is for sure--I am not going to miss Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day today. Yes. You know you have jealousy, you non-U go-ers.

I strolled around the perimeter of the mall, passing study groups, couples snoozing, people playing frisbee and eating apples at the same time. The guy who reads the Bible from the top of a ladder was there as well. A girl with huge gold headphones on was reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire under a tree. Michael Negus Gould III, the mall preacher, was there as well,reading about Jesus and Ananias from the top of his orange step ladder.Some hurried girl voop-vooped past in her brown corduroy pants, apparently getting somewhere kinda late. Person after person filed past with their Jamba Juice.

And I got blisters on my heels from those darn shoes. Insole time.

So, now I am back in the dorm with Leslie and Rachel, about to start my paper.

Rachel is reading about Nero, and informing us upon interval about his pervertedness, while repeatedly smacking her head.

"The guy was like a little rockstar, the jerk," she sniffs, after describing how he made people in his court clap in different ways when he would sing. Apparently he had no gift for singing, but insisted upon doing it, and also wouldn't let people leave the room until he was done.

"I doubt that anybody could possibly do more horrible things than Nero did. I really doubt it... I am DONE with Nero!...I have to read another ten pages of this guy?? KKkkrrrshshsh!"

He was quite the nasty man, I guess.Apparently he kicked his wife to the death.

"That was his second wife. He divorced his first wife, then killed her. And a girl who wouldn't marry him, he had her executed."

I named a fish Nero once. He's dead.

Well, I am going to go tend to my sad feet, and write this foolish paper before it gets too late.

Merry day to you.

Audios.

Song of the Week:

Watching the Planets by The Flaming Lips

Baq.

Greetings, all. It is Monday.

I have returned from a nice stint at mine house, and am back to face the realities of homework, dining hall food, and stain-resistant carpet.

Being away was quite a nice thing. Although, I did miss my dog a lot while at home. But all everyone talked about was this puppy we'll be getting sometime this summer, sooooo that made things grood. What else can one do, eh? Wait wait wait.

I sit here now, enjoying my yogurt, cereal, and Jamba Juice.

And the brilliant solar entity shining it's love through the screen, storm window, and regular window.

SPRING IS HAPPENING.

Now, we usually get about a foot of snow in March, so I am just crossing my fingers that the pattern will not exist this year.

Please.