(no subject)

"Writing, I think, is not apart from living. Writing is a kind of double living. The writer experiences everything twice. Once in reality and once in that mirror which waits always before or behind."
-- Catherine Drinker Bowen, American writer

My poor unhappy little car is being loaded onto a tow truck while I type. This is the second time in less than a month. *sigh* At least the tow truck came quickly this time. Now I must figure out how long it is going to take me to hike down to the bus stop. I might just stay home if it weren't for the Czech test.

"A journalist is someone who looks at the world and the way it works, someone who takes a close look at things every day and reports what she sees, someone who represents the world, the event, for others."
-- Marguerite Duras, French novelist and playwright

That, I think, is how I view this place and the people on Livejournal. Not all of them, but a great many of them. There are people here telling stories and documenting a world we might never see.

"The world I create in the writing compensates for what the real world does not give me."
-- Gloria Evangelina Anzaldua, U.S.-Tejana-Chicana writer

I write here because I want to remember, because it can be shared here. Because here the memories are not solely in my head, but glow from the screen. Little points of light in a dark space. Because I have so few chances to make the words count, and so few chances to remember to write it down. Because I've destroyed so many paper notebooks, and I can not burn this.

the work of the intellectual

"The work of an intellectual is not to mould the political will of
others; it is, through the analyses that he does in his own field,
to re-examine evidence and assumptions, to shake up habitual ways
of working and thinking."
-- Michel Foucault, English historian and philosopher

"I have learned throughout my life as a composer chiefly through my
mistakes and pursuits of false assumptions, not my exposure to
founts of wisdom and knowledge."
-- Igor Stravinsky, Russian composer

"You must stick to your convictions, but be ready to abandon your assumptions."
-- Denis Waitley, American motivational speaker

"Euclid taught me that without assumptions there is no proof.
Therefore, in any argument, examine the assumptions."
-- Eric Temple Bell, Scottish-American mathematician, educator, writer

jumping on the survery train

Physical appearance :
What do you most like about your body - eyes
And least - legs
How many fillings do you have - not a one
Do you think you're good looking - sometimes
Do other people - some people
What do you sound like - I'm not sure. I think my voice is lower in pitch than it sounds in my head. Though I have a kick-ass Slavic accent developing.

Fashion:
Do you wear a watch - I have a star shaped pocket watch
How many coats and jackets do you own - 5 or 6 I think
Favorite pants/skirt color - black
Favorite top/shirt color - black, or green
Most expensive item of clothing - I have a designer suit my grandmother bought me in high school to wear to academic competitions. It's charcoal gray and makes me look like I should be working for the Mafia.
Most treasured - my PVC David Bowie boots I bought in France,
my expensive bra
Boots or shoes - mostly boots, but sandals too
Scruffy or smart - both & inbetween

Your personality (general):
Extrovert or introvert - introverted
Are you confident - sometimes
Do you like yourself - depends on what I'm doing
Are you popular - as in prom queen style? no I don't think.
Are you good academically - pretty good if I may say so
What do you have a really good knowledge of -
literature, writing, languages
Are you good at games which rely on intellect - usually
Fictional character you are most like - I wish I could say I'm like one of Nabokov's characters, but that might be pushing it.
Things friends say to you the most -
Melynda says "Oh my God you're traumatizing me!" pretty often.
Can you speak another language - Russian, Czech, a little French, a little Serbo-Croatian

Your personality (specific):
Are you moody - up and down, all around
Use five words to describe what you feel inside - the circus in my head
Do people know how you feel - the ones I trust
What would you change about your personality -
have more faith in all things
Are you perceived wrongly - probably
What drives you - fear and desire
Worst fault - falling into the spiral

Your friends:
Do your friends know you - hmm. I think the few special ones do.
What do they tend to be like - fascinating, intelligent, thoughtful
Are there traits in you that are universally liked - I'm not sure
Few friends or many acquaintances - few friends
Can you count on them - yes
Can they count on you - yes

Sex:
Are you good at it - um, I think so
Have you ever been criticized about your performance - no
Does it ever leave you feeling empty - it has
What does it for you in a sex partner - a good accent, imagination
Favorite parts of partners body during sex - hands, shoulders, neck

Music/TV/Film/Books:
Favorite bands ever - Tom Petty, the Cure, Nine Inch Nails, David Bowie
Most listened to bands currently - Nine Inch Nails, KMFDM
Can you play an instrument - used to play french horn and the piano
Type of music listened to - lots
Type never listened to - hmm. I can't say I've ever listened to much jazz.
Books - so many:
Dostoevsky, Nabokov, Hrabal, Heinlein, Edith Wharton, etc.
Films - Luna Park, American Beauty, Casablanca, Cabaret Balkan, Kolya
Tv Shows - Batman Beyond (more of a cartoon), Providence, Boston Public
____________________________________________________

And I'm sure that was more than you wanted to know this evening. Off to write my Czech assignment.

my day in medium sentences

Hurrah for my fantastic mechanic Charlie, who always saves my car. I'm going to buy him a bottle of whiskey, since he fixes my car, does not rip me off, is always kind to me, and is just an all around wonderful man. He's like an uncle almost. Thank God for honest mechanics. So my car is now possessing even newer spark plugs and a new distributor cap. Which makes zooming down Mopac much easier and more fun. Charlie encouraged me to drive faster and more often. Funny. I am slowly getting over my fear of driving.

Geoff and Deb ate Chinese with me for dinner, because we all had fearsome cravings. There isn't anything quite as cool as Daina's $1.11 Chinese, but we did go to the humongous Buffet Palace. Which is good for it's tasty potato pancakes, fried dumplings and Korean barbecued ribs. Say what you will about big Americanized Chinese food places, but sometimes that stuff is good. I feel like a big sleepy cat after all that.

My Czech test went fairly well. I didn't have my usual panic over phrases I couldn't recall, and I think I absorbed a lot of grammar in this section. My genitive case is down, and I think the accusative as well. Now I just need to remember when to use which one with which verb. Hah!

I've finished my Czech paper, knocked out a couple of pages about my fascination with Vaclav Havel & the Velvet Revolution, and the Novak book we read. (For my non-Czech-speaking friends you pronounce that name "vat-slav ha-vel." So now you can impress your friends! Or not. *sigh*) Now onto the studying of stellar evolution and nuclear fusion. Karen's cat is yowling in my bathroom, not pleased to be my guest. But it was easier to take her home with me, so I can get her to the clinic in the morning. Zizala is a pretty beast, with grey black fur and a fluffy tail. Scratches like the devil too.

I think I might stay on campus tomorrow, there is an interesting talk happening, A Polish Priest in the Life of a Rural Texas Community: The personal experiences of Father Frank Kurzaj. 3-4:30pm in the Texas Governor's Room at the Union. Sounds interesting.