Hello World [Lady Antebellum]

Okay, yes, my last entry was pretty depressing (to which my dad commented: "do you need me to send you some valium?" see, the hilarity runs in the family.). But it was depressing here! I wasn't kidding when I suggested I'm part plant: the sun and me, we're just made for each other!

Take this past weekend for example.

I slept in Saturday until about noon (yes noon! I've still got it!). After stretching and taking my sweet time getting out of bed I shuffled to the window and drew back the curtains. I don't know what I was expecting, but I was wishing to be met with a sunny blue sky. However, I was met face to face with a sheet of white. An honest-to-goodness white-out in the back streets of Budapest.

And it was amazing.

Why, you may ask? Because white was not grey. Because white was just like home (actually, NC - my home away from home - got a good half foot of snow the same day. The northerner in me giggled as the state shut down - it was like the Apocalypse came early down there!). Because white brought with it the promise that the grey would end.

So Sunday morning the same thing happened - woke up around noon and was welcomed by some freshly falling snow. Ah the beauty of a blank slate poured down over a dreary city (to use an overused cliche). It was just perfect. It's still just perfect. It may be cold, but it is dang

beautiful out there.

But today. Today was perfect. The sun was out and burning so bright I had to bring my sunglasses to school with me. The wind may have been blowing, and I may have been freezing, but I soaked up that sunshine for all it was worth. See, part plant.

Saturday night was fun too - the Student Union hosted a party at a bar called Mumus (translation: Monster). I was there to help collect money for a fundraiser I have been heading to collect money to send to Haiti. It's been pretty successful so far - we've raised about 600 Euros. Which, for a school of about 1,000 students, is pretty good I think. But the party was fun - it was nice to get out of the dorm and out into the city. Granted the space was small and the DJ was pretty bad. But it was fun, and fun was something I've been needing.

Other than that I got a bunch of work done - some readings, a powerpoint about snakes and their (mis)representation in North America (yeah, I'll let you know when I figure out what the heck that has to do with Medieval Studies) which I have named the file as "Snakes on a PowerPoint." Seriously. You have to get your kicks somewhere, right?

I also have a slight confession - I've started watching Vampire Diaries since I've run out of my other shows to catch up on. I use TV shows to reward myself for getting things accomplished. Finished the readings for one class? Sure, watch the new Bones! Finished the powerpoint? Sure, watch Numb3rs! Cleaned my room? Sure, watch Grey's! But this Vampire Diaries (granted, by "started watching" I mean I've watched the first episode), I'm not so sure about it. It's cheesy, but it's cheesy in a catchy way. Though, I don't know what high school those kids are going to - but we never had parties like that when I was in high school (and that was only 6 years ago!). I don't know if I'm more jealous of those, or that I never had cute vampires following me around.

And just to summarize this really really random post, I've finished two books (for fun) since I've been back: The Road [Cormick McCarthy] & Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment [James Patterson]. As soon as I finish the book I'm reading now (What The Dickens [Gregory Maguire]) I'll write up a book review post. Sound good?

XOXO

Grey Sky Eyes [Carbon Leaf]

It's time for a real post, I say! (Not that that beautiful and oh-so-unobtainable dress wasn't a real post!)

It's the end of week two (for me at least, after a heck of a first semester I have procured the ultimate goal of any student - no classes on Friday!) The semester is up and going in full swing; we're progressing full force ahead.

So why the heck do I feel like the Titanic headed straight for that iceberg? I am already so dang far behind?! It's a rough world in this tiny academic bubble. Each class requires nearly 150 pages of reading each week, so it's easy to get lost in the pages. Not to mention I'm really anal about these things and read it all instead of skimming through the things that aren't as

important. Fortunately I have three whole days to get stuff accomplished.

But I will probably be working on getting things together for a fundraiser Monday and Tuesday at our little school to donate to relief efforts in Haiti. I, in my desire to help, volunteered to be the Student Union member in charge of the whole thing (hey, it was my idea, I couldn't exactly pose it and then leave it there to float or flounder). Which means that now I am invested so much more than before, and need to make a powerpoint to show while we sit in the lobby by the dining hall and collect. I'm excited about it, but also so nervous.

I'm always this way - I love planning things (I founded organized and planned and executed an alumni fencing weekend event at my alma mater for the two years after I

graduated - which hopefully will continue on for years to come), people have suggested that I consider something like this for a career, but I just get too invested. I want things to

be huge and amazing. I want to do things never done before. And then it causes me so much anxiety, because what if something goes wrong? Eep!

In other news - it snowed here in Budapest! Finally something pretty to look at! I know I'm fortunate to be here, living and studying in Europe. But I seriously have a crazy case of the Januarys. It's grey out all the time, the sun sets before 4:00pm, all the buildings are grey and made of cement or other stone-like materials, people only seem to dress in greys/blacks/browns. It's just depressing and I'm trying hard to keep my upbeat and spunky nature alive amidst it all.

Seriously, my bright green Columbia ski jacket sticks out like a giant blade of grass on a dying lawn. I wear a bright Carolina blue hat on my head, loud colored scarves. I am trying to project my colorful and bright ways on a city that seems to have found itself in the Doldrums! Happy thoughts, happy music blasting on my iPod, smiling at strangers (the Hungarians, on average, have mastered the "don't care" look when traveling). Anything that I can do to salvage some sort of sunshine in this month of grey.

Oh, lastly - I tried to go fencing last night. I had to talk myself into it too, as I was suffering quite a lot from the aforementioned January Blues. I dragged my bag through the newly fallen snow, onto the bus, down two metro lines, and again through some other new snow to find out practice was cancelled. The lights were off in the Synagogue. The handwritten sign on the door read "ZARVA!" (Closed) and some other Hungarian that I clearly could not understand. Was gonna try again tonight, but figured I'd not test fate and just wait until next week. It's a long trip to just turn around and come home!

I do not envy those ladies! Naked! In the Snow!

Gearing up for Valentines! So Cute!

This is just aching for a late night meeting between lovers.

Try to look at that and not laugh, I dare you.

Wishful Wednesday: A Dress Like No Other

So this week's Wishful Wednesday from The Seattle Smiths asks us - which dress from the Golden Globe awards would you would love to have worn. Now, sadly, the Golden GLobes are hard to come by in Budapest, so my red carpet drooling and dreaming has been done from afar (via blogs, news sites, and other assorted areas of cyberspace). But let me tell you, when I came across this dress the girly-girl-wanna-be-movie-star inside me started screaming and begging me.

Inner Me: "Please, oh please, we must have that dress!"

Me: "That dress probably cost more than college did."

IM: "But just think of all the places you'd wear it to!"

Me: "Think of all the Ketchup I'd spill on it!"

IM: "But we really want it!"

Me: "People in hell want ice water. Doesn't mean they're gonna get it."

IM: "But it's just so adorable! And chic! And so, well, US!"

Me: "I must concede, it is an amazing dress. But we're still not getting it."

Which dress you ask?

Why this one, of course!

It's Jayma Mays wearing a Badgley Mischka Resort 2010 masterpiece. She plays the guidance councilor in Glee. She's cute, she's spunky, she's flirty - dangit, she's ME. But she's on the red carpet, and I'm blogging about wishing I was on the red carpet.

Sigh. Maybe someday (IM:"Someday? Get your our cute little butt going!").

And just a heads up to my last post - an aftershock went through Haiti, as if they didn't have problems already. Please, help in whatever way you can. Even if it's just smiling at a stranger to make the world a little happier of a place, please do it. If every Americain cut out $10 from their YEARLY spending (this means making a one time donation of $10) we'd be able to send close to 3.1 BILLION dollars to relief efforts in Haiti. Think about that.

For Haiti

We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.

[Herman Melville]

I just wanted to send out my thoughts and prayers for Haiti. Even over here in Budapest it's impossible to not know what's going on back in the Western Hemisphere. True, I'm not sure exactly what the coverage has been like here as I don't have a television nor do I get a newspaper. Either way, the internet has kept me up-to-date with what's happening in the whole ordeal.

It's hard for me to imagine that sort of disaster, that sort of pain. I mean, we Americans had 9-11. We had buildings collapsing and people lost and assumed dead. We had images of bloody faces plastered all over the media - newspapers, television channels, posters in coffee houses begging for our spare change to help. We have nightmares of people trapped under rubble with no way to claw our way out. We had that sort of pain, we can understand, we can sympathize.

But we also had someone to blame. We had someone that had caused all that pain and anguish to gush through our society, through our hearts. We could assign all of that to a bad guy, we could name the men who shattered our worlds. In some perverse way we even had an answer to the question why us?

Haiti doesn't have that. The closest they can come is Mother Earth as the one to blame, the one to cry out at and curse her name. But what good does that do? There is no answer to their questions of why us? The earth simply shook and showed us her awesome power and reminded us that we're just guests here. But that doesn't help heal any wounds, that doesn't help rebuild a community, and that doesn't help make this make any more sense.

What this disaster has shown us, as every disaster has in the past, is that we are a world community. Something like this happens and the world answers. Because we know, deep down, that despite the differences in color, religion, region, and economy, we're all made of the same stuff. And that is the stuff that makes us reach out when we see someone else with that same stuff suffer.

I know it's a trying time for most of us; the economy and the world in general is making our pockets lighter, job searches longer, and happiness something reserved for special occasions. But Haiti needs us to look past our own needs and help them. They need us to look past things we think we "need" (which are really just "wants" anyways) and help. Do you really need that Starbucks frappachino on a Friday afternoon? Do you really need to buy that extra t-shirt that will probably sit on the shelf in your closet this month?

Editing even $10 out of your weekly routine is a lot easier than you think.

What I'll leave you with is three options that I think are legitimate and good ways to help.

Charity:Water has links to three ways to help. Money from the suggested places go to directly help with health care to the Haitians. Live in NYC? The charity:water offices are collecting necessary goods, take a look.

Red Cross gives you the opportunity to select where your money is going and how its going to be used. They're a trusted organization and their mission is pure.

Pray for the people of Haiti. If nothing else raise them up in your hearts and your thoughts. Pray that they find some solace. Pray that they're able to rebound and rebuild. Pray that they are able to heal. Pray for the people who are headed into that disaster that they can find the people still lost and treat those who have already been found. Prayer is powerful.