Mmm, Scrabble

I had another bipolar day today. It started out alright, and I watched "Rebel Without a Cause," which almost made me cry because it's so good, and then I went to the ceramics studio to glaze. Unfortunately I totally have glazer's block- all my stuff turns out looking like shit, so I'm less than excited about glazing. I was, therefore, all down, etc, and then was talking to Ryan, who was like "Ellie, let's sit down and figure your life out." So Ryan asked me lots of questions about why I was feeling cranky and upset, and I answered to an extent (I couldn't mention to him that the simple fact that we were talking was making me depressed, because I used to like him- plus he started throwing with his shirt off, which just made it super awkward for me). Anyway, thinking about why I was upset made me more upset, so when I left for softball practice I didn't even make it to my car before I broke down and cried excessively... No fun. But then I was sitting in my car and got an idea for glazing a pot, so I went back in and did it.

Then I went to the opposite end of the spectrum, and spent a joyous five hours (!) at The Muse playing Scrabble and just hanging out with Adrienne (for the first game), Lindsey, Alison and Lady Hayden. That was much more pleasant. I even won a game (with 177 points), and used the word xebec!!! I've been waiting to use that for years. I got some cuddle time in with Lindsey, which was much needed by me.

Seriously, I have not been meeting my cuddling/hug quota.

But yeah... so I'm totally bipolar.

I feel somehow obligated to update my blog, so here I am. I don't really want to say anything, though- I'm cranky due to end-of-year stress and so I'm really sick of inane chatter and not at all amused by sillyness. I have plenty to talk about, but I don't want to make you read about it.

Speaking of which, I've been pretty bipolar this week, going rapidly from extreme highs (such as Wednesday night's beer-pong-related revelation and great workout) to deep lows (such as physics Teusday and dinner with Lindsey Thursday (badness my fault. sorta.)).

Btw, The Interpreter is a great movie, and "frozen" strawberry margheritas are tres tasty. And Eric is hot for picking up the check.

Translation

You know, sometimes I think I need someone always present to translate what I say into what I mean. For instance, when I sat down to blog, the only thing I could think of to write was "Fuck you all."

very necessary translation: I've gotten 7 hours of sleep in the last 51 hours. Guh."

Today I met with my personal trainer, watched anime, ate a great meal with greater tiramisu, saw dances by world-famous choreographers Bill T. Jones and Trisha Brown which interacted with digital music and digital projections in real time, had coffee with Lady Hayden, played Catch-Phrase, and rode a motorcycle for the first time! Can a day get any better, I ask you? ^_^

You never really understand something until it affects you personally, they say. Well, terrorism has never quite affected me like this.

Today in Cairo, a motorcyclist blew himself up while driving down Al-Muski street in the Khan al-Khalili, which is the large market district in Cairo. The attack was apparently aimed at tourists shopping there, and killed four, wounding twenty more. Why the effect on me? Because three weeks ago I was walking down that street, purchasing souvenirs for folks- that's where I bought the kafiyyas. Four weeks ago I was there buying bellydance costumes, and relaxing over a cup of arabic coffee at el-Fishawi's Coffeehouse. This could have happened three or four weeks ago. My sister, or any of her friends, could have been there today.

It really brings it home. Much like when I got onto the subject of death with my then boyfriend, who had been a junior at Columbine at the time of the shooting. His only comment was a sober, "I went to a lot of funerals that year."

Anyway, sorry to be so serious, I promise I'll post something light and cheerful next time

Symbol Art and Cheerfulness

So I totally expected to be terribly depressed today, but the truth is that I'm feeling pretty darn cheerful and focused. Except for one *ahem* pitfall, things have been going quite nicely in Eleanor-land. Last week I had a couple of events for my Cultural Encounters class, and after each one Anika and I went to IHOP until late, which is freakin' awesome, lol. Lindsey and Sarah Clark joined us on Saturday night, which was actually kind of bad because Lindsey then proceeded to repeat gossip concerning someone to that someone... and he was not pleased with me. In fact, he was pretty pissed. We had fun, though, and when I got home on Saturday night, the person who IMed me as soon as I got home was none other than Shaun! We haven't really spoken in about three months due to my... how shall I say... lact of tact while drunk. He's a pseudo-ex-boyfriend/good-friend of mine (I have a particular talent for effing these things up, lol)- anyway, it's nice that we're talking again. At the same time I'm glad I'd had a couple of months off to get over everything and really move on. We played around making symbol art for a while, which was entertaining. I swear, that kid knows the worst stuff I have to tell. Yay for old friends!

That then inspired me to play clarinet last night, which could do nothing but cheer me up :-) Oh, and I finally got to meet Tristan's dad and brother. And ceramics today was really pleasant- I got to hang out with Ian and Jessica a lot while I was working. And try to make a drum. It didn't work. *sheepish smile*

"'Have you le cafard?' I asked, referring to the desert-madness that, bred of monotony, boredom, misery, and hardship, attacks European soldiers in these outposts- especially absinthe-drinkers- and makes them do strange things, varying from mutiny, murder, and suicide to dancing about naked, or thinking they are lizards or emperors or clock-pendulums." - Major Henri de Beaujolais "Beau Geste" by P.C. Wren

Until next time, keep on swingin'! :-)

Poolside

sooooo sleeeeeepy!

So I've been really tired this week, and today after chem and lunch with Lindsey I decided that, prior to a nap, it would be nice to go down to the pool and take a dip, have a beer, and read some of "Beau Geste." (Best book ever, lol.) I did this, but I was disappointed to discover that others had the same idea. I was excited about going down and lounging around- I did NOT want anyone to see me looking like a nerd in my high platform beach shoes, or have to suck in my gut. I just wanted to relax. Unfortunately for me, there were various people there, including (kill me now) attractive young men. Seriously, the last thing in the world I wanted to deal with was my own competitive instinct. So there I was, tired and now cranky, trying to relax but unable to ignore the hott babes and (swimming) pool sharks. All was not lost, since I still had Major Henri de Beaujolais and the tale of the strange evetns at Zinderneuf to entertain me, but I was dissapointed in myself for not being able to relax.
G'night!