do you have swine flu?

You better check.

hope everyone's playoff beards are growing nicely...

Blogging about two weeks' worth of traveling seems a very daunting task at the moment. So I'm going to blog about something else entirely.


The Capitals won game 7 against the NY Rangers and are moving on to the next round of the playoffs! First game of the series against the Pittsburgh Penguins is this Saturday, 6pm my time (1pm local time, if you're back in the States) at home.

Tuesday's game was the only one that I was actually able to watch, due to me being all continental for the past couple of weeks, so I really don't know how the whole series went. Must have been exciting to actually get to a game 7 though. Varlamov seems to be taking over for Theodore very well. And Sergei Fedorov's still got it, scoring the winning goal in the third period and all! So yeah, I am once again caught up in Stanley Cup fever. Although this year is going to make me a lot more tired, seeing as I have to stay up until like 4am to watch the games.


Edit: Okay, bad news. Just found out that El Clásico starts at 7pm on Saturday, so I'm going to have to abandon the hockey after an hour. It's only game 1 so I can afford to, but still, how annoying. Scheduling conflicts suck...although I may be the only person in the entire world that is affected by this particular one.

highs and lows of european travel

To the little punk in the Valencia park who stole my iPod out of my hands while I was listening to it: Fuck you. I've had to sit on five long trains with nothing to do, and am looking at two more full days of train travel bored out of my mind because you couldn't keep your stupid thief hands to yourself. Replacing it when I get back to London is not a problem; the problem is I want to use it now!! I die without my music. I highly doubt you die without my music. You probably can't even understand it and are deleting my library at this very moment. In which case: Fuck you doubly. How dare you delete my music to make room for your crap?!? I have fucking amazing music. You don't deserve it, you bastardo hijo de puta. I hope you accidentally turn the volume up too loud and blow out your eardrums, never to hear again.


God. You always hear "watch out for pickpockets", but you never hear "watch out for people who come up to you face to face, talk to you, then steal shit right in front of you and run away". I mean, I had my headphones in! He actually unplugged them. I was in such a state of shock that I didn't react quickly enough. I felt so violated. I've been passively mugged. I gave chase for a while, but then I realized that in my surprise I had left my bag on the bench. I had a split second of terror where I thought maybe while bastardo numero uno was distracting me, another buddy of his was off stealing my purse--with my passport, money, train tickets, oranges (because those are v. important of course), etc. It was still there, thank god, but I figured that it was more important to go back and guard the bag than run after my poor kidnapped iPod.

Other than that Valencia was great. And I absolutely loved Barcelona too. Am in Florence right now, and I'm kind of in city love again. Ate the biggest pizza imaginable today, then walked it off up a mountain to see the gorgeous view from above. Going to have gelato for dinner.

Thieves aside, seriously, can I never leave Europe please?

Oh yeah, no song of the week this week. I have no music in my life anymore. :(

we are virginia tech.

Hard to believe it's been two years. In some ways it seems like it happened a lifetime ago; in others, only yesterday. As a campus and as a community we have moved ahead, but I can't easily say that we've moved on. I don't think it's something that I will ever fully get over, and I know many of my friends, classmates, and sisters feel the same way. It's not easy, with gun violence still extremely prevalent in the US and even abroad, and with unthinkably easy access to guns it's no wonder we still have a problem. However, the Hokie Nation has grown stronger, and we are healing.

For all of those who have helped in the recovery process over the past few years - thank you.

And for all of the Hokies no longer with us - requiescant in pace.

song of the week: violent berries

This week's song "Violent Berries" comes courtesy of DC band Exit Clov made up of twin singers/violin/keyboard/guitar players Emily and Susan Hsu, Aaron Leeder (guitar), Brett Niederman (bass), and John Thayer (drums).

Maybe it's my dorkestra background (yes, I played the viola for about 7 years), but I love bands that incorporate classical or unusual instruments into their sound. They are largely influenced by the city they live in, so a lot of their songs are politically fueled ("MK Ultra" tells the tale of Candy Jones, who claimed to be brainwashed by the government in the 1960s, and their haunting rendition of John Lennon's "Working Class Hero" will never get old), and they're supposed to put on a fantastic live show. My friend and I tried to get to several of their concerts back in high school, but it never seemed to work out. They actually sent us back a message on MySpace once that said they would try to get us in to a show free because they love their MySpace fans (this was back when MySpace was cool, mind you), but high school stuff always got in the way.

Sorry, I know this is kind of a crap writeup but the plague is still eating at my brain. I'm posting it anyways because I've been serious neglecting this place.

peep set me up!

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you all are having a happier holiday than I am. Have been practically bedridden with flu-like symptoms since Friday, and haven't eaten a proper meal since Thursday lunchtime. My parents even bought me a chocolate Easter bunny from Fortnum & Mason when they were in town last week, and it looks delicious but I have no appetite. I am devastated. Nothing like chocolate to make you feel better.

On a funnier Easter note, the Sunday Source section of the Washington Post held their second annual Peeps Diorama contest, and some real gems made it to the finals. This one, titled "Peep set me up!" had me laughing for about 5 minutes straight.

Semifinalist: Jodie Smolik, 42, of Washington re-created former D.C. mayor Marion Barry's infamous 1990 arrest. "The Peep on the bed has been drinking champagne ordered from room service," she writes in an e-mail. "The FBI agents (or Funny Bunny Investigators) are hiding in the W.C. after having set up video cameras and providing a bag of crack to the Peep (please see dime bag with rocks on the dresser). Perhaps the Peep did set him up."

More positive news: Arsenal beat Wigan 4-1 yesterday away, ringing in another joyful St. Totteringham's Day. If I were hungry, I'd make myself some lasagna to celebrate.

family obligations

Sorry for the sparseness of my blog lately. My parents and little brother are in town and so I'm hanging out with them for the rest of the week. We're in Bath right now, and we're renting a car tomorrow and doing a tour of the Cotswolds.

I am really hoping that I'll be able to watch the match against Villarreal tonight, but I missed last Saturday's Citeh game (and Cesc's homecoming!) because we were on the Tower of London tour. We'll see if I can convince my parents to eat at a pub tonight.

Oh yeah, new song of the week: Let It Rain by Living Things.

"i don't know how i got off that island phil..."

I may have been a bit over dramatic in my last entry. It really wasn't all that bad. The main problem wasn't the other tourists, it was the weather. Freezing cold and rained every day...I didn't even take my bathing suit out of my backpack. And I was so looking forward to going to the beach. Definite mood killer.

Because none of us had cold weather clothing it was nigh on impossible to actually do anything outside for very long that didn't end in us shivering and wanting to go back and curl up under blankets, so we pretty much sat in our hotel room all day, and then were kept up all night by the aforementioned banging and yelling and general drunken debauchery going on all around us. But everything else would have been much more bearable if we weren't in such crappy moods already. That's not to say that we didn't go out at night, because we did. Like I said, there was really nothing else we could do. And about the nightlife...yeah, Blur were totally right.

On Thursday we did go to the Inca markets, which would have been great...if it hadn't started pouring an hour into our trip. So of course we got soaked again, and all the vendors closed down, and we couldn't even go inside a cafe because it was too crowded so we ended up sitting outside in the cold under the little overhang.

Best part of the trip: our last night we splashed out and went to a nice Spanish restaurant and I got seafood paella and it was absolutely delicious. Although I split it with a friend who loves seafood, but only if it's all de-shelled and de-clawed and de-headed and everything, because "eating anything with eyes that looks alive freaks me out!" So I had to deshell all of her seafood before she could eat it.

I did get to watch the Spain vs. Turkey World Cup qualifyer, which was pretty cool to watch while actually in Spain. Same with the Nadal - Del Potro tennis match. Those Mallorcans (the few that I actually met, at least) do love their Rafa Nadal.

So my overall verdict is that it was a pretty awful vacation, but I would really like to go back someday when 1) it's actually hot out, and 2) I have more money so I can stay somewhere farther inland and away from the British area. The actual island is gorgeous, the mountains look like they'd be great for hiking, and the beaches were pretty even without the sun so they'd probably look even better with it.

a warning to all travelers

The Curse Of Mallorca, or Get Me The Hell Off Of This Godforsaken Island

Past the white sandy beaches of a small island in the Mediterranean, through the narrow winding forest paths, in a hidden cave high up on the tallest mountain, an ancient tale was written on a forgotten stone wall. It is a tale of the horrors that befall wayward travelers in the few months known as Spring, when the evil spirits of the night come out to play...and to prey.

These zombie-like creatures are of the species Britannius Inebrius, and they thrive in dismal rainy weather and feed off of greasy chips, alcohol, and the sheer exhaustion of others. It is written that when unsuspecting foreigners come across these spirits, they will not be left alone until the zombies' appetites for doom and destruction have been satiated. Do not make the mistake of thinking that since they are the devil's minions that they are therefore insubstantial; they are very much flesh and blood and they can do enormous amounts of damage if given free reign.

If you ever find yourself in the company of these spirits, traveler, I beg you: do not make eye contact, for they will drench you with water. Do not stop to chat because that will only encourage them. And most of all, do not give them your name, for they will alter it into a ridiculous nickname and call it out all night long down the streets and hallways. You must also never invite them inside, for they will eat your food, listen to your music, and refuse to leave you in peace. And even if you let them know where you reside, they will wail, bang on the walls, and buzz deafeningly outside until you go insane.

The terror that you feel in the midnight hours when you are awoken by screaming, chanting, and horrible crashes is indescribable; you feel as if there is no escape and you will surely die. It may be possible to keep them at bay with spades, mops, and brooms, although it is probably best if you just don't open your door, because it is very likely that you will be consumed and reduced to a pile of pink powder. Their overall aim is to turn you into a night-prowling devilish zombie like themselves. Again, I urge you to be inconspicuous; do not stand out by letting it be known that you are not of the Britannius species, because drawing attention to yourself is the quickest way to destruction.

Traveler, you have been warned. Do not awaken the drunken spirits, for they will destroy you. Or your holiday. And perhaps your balcony furniture.

We, the undersigned, urge you not to take this warning lightly.

Vicky, Bobby, Sandy, and Fernando