Me tired. Must clear brain before last two exams. Drink tea. Wrap self up in baby blue blanky. Sneeze from spring allergies.
Talk like Tarzan with a drinking problem.
GUH.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Why Judy must not, nay, cannot drink coffee
It starts so simply, each sip of the drink creating a new effect, just like poetry. First, a rush... heat... her heart flutters. Her tummy rumbles. Her head feels heavy. The room slowly spins. She does not understand why - is it the caffeine? No. What is it then, what is the reason? And soon it does not matter, soon the why and the reason are gone, and all that matters is the nausea itself. This is the nature of the coffee. She struggles against it, she fights to deny it, but it is of course pretense, it is a lie. Beneath her poised appearance, the truth is...she is completely out of control.
I cannot drink coffee. I must not. Not even decaf. It doesn't matter. There is something about coffee that makes me insane. I'll sit in a Pizza Hut, look around at the giant plastic vegetables on the wall and cry. At least the crying relieves the crazy somewhat. If there is no crying, there is only the curling up in the corner and whimpering softly while rocking back and forth.
Damn coffee.
Nausea before retching before emesis. The vomiting centre in my medulla oblongata better not be activated. *shake fist* Oh god. Maybe if I concentrate really hard, it will go away. And lots of water.
And yes, I stole that bit up there from Matrix: Reloaded. What of it?
I cannot drink coffee. I must not. Not even decaf. It doesn't matter. There is something about coffee that makes me insane. I'll sit in a Pizza Hut, look around at the giant plastic vegetables on the wall and cry. At least the crying relieves the crazy somewhat. If there is no crying, there is only the curling up in the corner and whimpering softly while rocking back and forth.
Damn coffee.
Nausea before retching before emesis. The vomiting centre in my medulla oblongata better not be activated. *shake fist* Oh god. Maybe if I concentrate really hard, it will go away. And lots of water.
And yes, I stole that bit up there from Matrix: Reloaded. What of it?
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Cooking Attempt #20: 부대찌개 (Army squad stew)
I suddenly had a craving for Budae jjigae yesterday, so I made a grocery list and found myself a recipe. It's called Army squad stew, because it was invented after the Korean War when meat was scarce and people traded with American soldiers for Spam, ham and sausages. Wikipedia tells me that it was also called Johnson soup after President Lyndon B. Johnson.
I was going to add cauliflower, but I forgot to get it at the store. Kimchi was also omitted, because I've run out of lettuce kimchi, so I had to improvise on the seasoning of the broth. Instead, I added the juice from the radish kimchi I had. It's much lighter than lettuce kimchi juice and more refreshing. I was originally going to add ramen noodles (without the powder), but then I realized that there was going to be just too much food. Some recipes call for cheese, but I am a purist and those fusion heathens that use cheese in Asian food can go to the devil!
This is the first time I've ever cooked with watercress. It was a lucky thing that I managed to buy some, because I don't know EXACTLY what they look like and all the signs in the grocery store were in French (give me a break, I'm like 1/20th of the way through the A section in my dictionary), so I took a guess and it was right! Des cressons, baby!
Ingredients:
Bean sprouts - 2 cups
Watercress - 1 cup
Shitake mushrooms - 1 cup chopped
Potato - 1 chopped into large chunks
Onion - 1 chopped into thin slices
Pork belly - how big is my fist?
Sausage - 1 cut into chunks
Seasoning:
Mashed garlic - 2 tbsp
Green onion - 2 tbsp chopped
Korean chili powder - 3 tbsp
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Radish kimchi juice - I added as much as I had, because I like it spicy.
First arrange the ingredients in a big flat skillet. You can add plain water or make some seaweed water like I did and pour it over the ingredients. Bring it up to a boil and then reduce the heat so that it simmers.
Mix the seasoning separately and slowly dissolve into the stew.
Cook it very slowly until the meat is cooked thoroughly.
Eat with rice! I have some leftover stew. I'll probably add more sprouts and watercress tomorrow to finish it up. Mmmm~
I just got a craving for some spicy chicken, so I might be trying that soon. ^_^
I was going to add cauliflower, but I forgot to get it at the store. Kimchi was also omitted, because I've run out of lettuce kimchi, so I had to improvise on the seasoning of the broth. Instead, I added the juice from the radish kimchi I had. It's much lighter than lettuce kimchi juice and more refreshing. I was originally going to add ramen noodles (without the powder), but then I realized that there was going to be just too much food. Some recipes call for cheese, but I am a purist and those fusion heathens that use cheese in Asian food can go to the devil!
This is the first time I've ever cooked with watercress. It was a lucky thing that I managed to buy some, because I don't know EXACTLY what they look like and all the signs in the grocery store were in French (give me a break, I'm like 1/20th of the way through the A section in my dictionary), so I took a guess and it was right! Des cressons, baby!
Ingredients:
Bean sprouts - 2 cups
Watercress - 1 cup
Shitake mushrooms - 1 cup chopped
Potato - 1 chopped into large chunks
Onion - 1 chopped into thin slices
Pork belly - how big is my fist?
Sausage - 1 cut into chunks
Seasoning:
Mashed garlic - 2 tbsp
Green onion - 2 tbsp chopped
Korean chili powder - 3 tbsp
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Radish kimchi juice - I added as much as I had, because I like it spicy.
First arrange the ingredients in a big flat skillet. You can add plain water or make some seaweed water like I did and pour it over the ingredients. Bring it up to a boil and then reduce the heat so that it simmers.
Mix the seasoning separately and slowly dissolve into the stew.
Cook it very slowly until the meat is cooked thoroughly.
Eat with rice! I have some leftover stew. I'll probably add more sprouts and watercress tomorrow to finish it up. Mmmm~
I just got a craving for some spicy chicken, so I might be trying that soon. ^_^
Thursday, April 17, 2008
French vocab exercise 007
Ooh~ look! It's French vocab exercise 007! This means, of course, that I have to write something James Bond-y. Luckily, the next 10 words seem to work out pretty well for this kind of thing.
-absurde: absurd, preposterous
absurdement: absurdly
absurdité: absurdity
-abuser: to deceive, to mislead
abuser de: to overuse
s'abuser de: to be mistaken
abus: abuse, indulgence, excess, misuse
abusif: excessive
abusivement: unfairly, wrongly
-abysse: abyss
-acabit: type
de cet acabit: of that type
du même acabit: two of a kind
-acacia: acacia
-académicien: academician, academic
académie: academy
académisme: academicism
-Acadie: Acadia
Acadien: Acadian
-acajou: mahogany
-acariâtre: sour, bad-tempered
-acarien: acarid (mite of the Acariae family)
Bond attendait son contact dans un café démodé et douillet sur une petite rue à Caire. En traçant le grain de l'accoudoir d'acajou usé, il s'est rappelé la rendez-vous avec M. Le vieil homme avait été particulièrement acariâtre ce jour pluvieux à Londres. "Quelques bêtises absurdes des arbres d'acacia et des acariens. J'imagine qu'il n'est rien du tout, mais la Station E a demandé que nous l'aidions à enquêter. Tu ferais mieux d'étudier le truc avant que tu partes."
Le Chef d'état-major avait envoyé un gros classeur des espèces importantes d'Acacia en Egypte, mais Bond l'avait rejeté pour réfléchir à l'importance de quelques arbres détruits dans le gros jeu de diplomatie mondiale et d'intrigue internationale.
Bond a été momentanément étonné quand un homme s'est assis à la table sans se présenter. Il avait été complètement discret malgré son habit d'un académicien du tweed léger dans le marché chaud et sec. Bond a décidé que le chef de Station E était un homme qu'on ne devrait pas sous-estimer.
"Pierre de Monts," a dit une voix douce avant d'appeler un garçon pour commander deux cafés turcs simples.
"Bond. James Bond." Il a examiné les yeux verts souriants qui contrastaient le reste de son visage impassible. Bond a essayé de se souvenir des détails dans le dossier de De Monts. Il était né à Cole Harbour, une petite village près de Dartmouth, en face du port de Halifax. Qu'est-ce qui a incité cet Acadien à traverser à l'autre côté du monde et devenir le premier homme pour le Service Secret en Egypte ?
"Alors, êtes-vous au courant de l'acacia, M. Bond ?"
"Si je ne m'abuse pas, les Égyptiens anciens ont cru que l'acacia de Saosis était l'arbre de vie."
"Ah oui, l'arbre dans lequel la vie et la mort sont entourées. Mais je parle des aspects pratiques plutôt que la plante mythologique qui retient les morts de l'abysse."
"Je sais que la gomme arabe vient de l'acacia."
"De deux acabits, en fait : Acacia sénégal et Acacia seyal. La gomme arabe est utilisé dans tout des sodas aux feux d'artifice. Jusqu'à 1990, le Soudan a produit 80% de la gomme arabe du monde, mais il est récemment tombé à moins de 50%. Quand même, ils sont le plus grand producteur et je crois qu'ils veulent maintenir leur contrôle n'importe quoi."
Translation:
Bond waited for his contact to arrive in the old-fashioned, but cozy café on a side street in Cairo. Tracing the grain of the worn mahogany armrest, he thought back to the meeting with M. The old man had been particularly sour on that rainy day in London. "Some bloody nonsense about acacia trees and mites. I daresay it's nothing at all, but Station E has requested that we help investigate. You'd better read up on the stuff before you leave."
The Chief of Staff had sent a thick folder about the major species of Acacia in Egypt, but Bond had tossed it aside to mull over the significance of a few destroyed trees in the high stakes game of world diplomacy and international intrigue.
Bond was momentarily taken aback when a man sat down at the table without introducing himself. He had been completely inconspicuous in spite of his academic's garb of light tweed in the hot, dry market. Bond decided that the head of Station E was a man who should not be underestimated.
"Pierre de Monts," said a mild-mannered voice before calling a waiter over to order two plain Turkish coffees.
"Bond. James Bond." He looked into the smiling green eyes that contradicted the rest of his impassive face. Bond tried to remember the details of de Monts's dossier. He had been born in Cole Harbour, a small town near Dartmouth, across the harbour from Halifax. What has prompted this Acadian to move halfway across the world and become the lead man for the Secret Service in Egypt?
"So what do you know about the Acacia, Mr. Bond?"
"If I'm not mistaken, the ancient Egyptians believed that the acacia tree of Saosis was the tree of life."
"Ah yes, the tree in which life and death are enclosed. But I'm talking about the practical aspects rather than the mythological plant that pulls the dead back from the abyss."
"I know that the gum arabic comes from the Acacia tree."
"From two types, in fact: Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal. The gum arabic is used in everything from soft drinks to fireworks. Until 1990, the Sudan produced 80% of the world's gum arabic, but it has recently dropped to less than 50%. Even so, they are
the largest single producer of the stuff and I believe they mean to maintain their control no matter what."
Notes:
1) I write what I can with those words and this was what came to my mind, so don't blame me if it doesn't make a lick of sense, okay? I had to research the genus Acacia and Egyptian mythology for this thing on top of trying to write a Bond intro in French!
2) There's a line stolen straight from Seinfeld in there. Guess where it is!
3) Bond's contacts are usually people who seem to blend into the environment and stand out at the same time. I had to mention an Acadian in there, so why not describe someone I already know? ^_^ Pierre de Monts was the Governor of Acadia, who established the first French settlement in North America. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)
4) Many thanks to Josh for describing the location of Cole Harbour so succinctly.
5) Bond loves Turkish coffee.
6) All that arabic gum stuff is from some quick research on Wikipedia.
-absurde: absurd, preposterous
absurdement: absurdly
absurdité: absurdity
-abuser: to deceive, to mislead
abuser de: to overuse
s'abuser de: to be mistaken
abus: abuse, indulgence, excess, misuse
abusif: excessive
abusivement: unfairly, wrongly
-abysse: abyss
-acabit: type
de cet acabit: of that type
du même acabit: two of a kind
-acacia: acacia
-académicien: academician, academic
académie: academy
académisme: academicism
-Acadie: Acadia
Acadien: Acadian
-acajou: mahogany
-acariâtre: sour, bad-tempered
-acarien: acarid (mite of the Acariae family)
Bond attendait son contact dans un café démodé et douillet sur une petite rue à Caire. En traçant le grain de l'accoudoir d'acajou usé, il s'est rappelé la rendez-vous avec M. Le vieil homme avait été particulièrement acariâtre ce jour pluvieux à Londres. "Quelques bêtises absurdes des arbres d'acacia et des acariens. J'imagine qu'il n'est rien du tout, mais la Station E a demandé que nous l'aidions à enquêter. Tu ferais mieux d'étudier le truc avant que tu partes."
Le Chef d'état-major avait envoyé un gros classeur des espèces importantes d'Acacia en Egypte, mais Bond l'avait rejeté pour réfléchir à l'importance de quelques arbres détruits dans le gros jeu de diplomatie mondiale et d'intrigue internationale.
Bond a été momentanément étonné quand un homme s'est assis à la table sans se présenter. Il avait été complètement discret malgré son habit d'un académicien du tweed léger dans le marché chaud et sec. Bond a décidé que le chef de Station E était un homme qu'on ne devrait pas sous-estimer.
"Pierre de Monts," a dit une voix douce avant d'appeler un garçon pour commander deux cafés turcs simples.
"Bond. James Bond." Il a examiné les yeux verts souriants qui contrastaient le reste de son visage impassible. Bond a essayé de se souvenir des détails dans le dossier de De Monts. Il était né à Cole Harbour, une petite village près de Dartmouth, en face du port de Halifax. Qu'est-ce qui a incité cet Acadien à traverser à l'autre côté du monde et devenir le premier homme pour le Service Secret en Egypte ?
"Alors, êtes-vous au courant de l'acacia, M. Bond ?"
"Si je ne m'abuse pas, les Égyptiens anciens ont cru que l'acacia de Saosis était l'arbre de vie."
"Ah oui, l'arbre dans lequel la vie et la mort sont entourées. Mais je parle des aspects pratiques plutôt que la plante mythologique qui retient les morts de l'abysse."
"Je sais que la gomme arabe vient de l'acacia."
"De deux acabits, en fait : Acacia sénégal et Acacia seyal. La gomme arabe est utilisé dans tout des sodas aux feux d'artifice. Jusqu'à 1990, le Soudan a produit 80% de la gomme arabe du monde, mais il est récemment tombé à moins de 50%. Quand même, ils sont le plus grand producteur et je crois qu'ils veulent maintenir leur contrôle n'importe quoi."
Translation:
Bond waited for his contact to arrive in the old-fashioned, but cozy café on a side street in Cairo. Tracing the grain of the worn mahogany armrest, he thought back to the meeting with M. The old man had been particularly sour on that rainy day in London. "Some bloody nonsense about acacia trees and mites. I daresay it's nothing at all, but Station E has requested that we help investigate. You'd better read up on the stuff before you leave."
The Chief of Staff had sent a thick folder about the major species of Acacia in Egypt, but Bond had tossed it aside to mull over the significance of a few destroyed trees in the high stakes game of world diplomacy and international intrigue.
Bond was momentarily taken aback when a man sat down at the table without introducing himself. He had been completely inconspicuous in spite of his academic's garb of light tweed in the hot, dry market. Bond decided that the head of Station E was a man who should not be underestimated.
"Pierre de Monts," said a mild-mannered voice before calling a waiter over to order two plain Turkish coffees.
"Bond. James Bond." He looked into the smiling green eyes that contradicted the rest of his impassive face. Bond tried to remember the details of de Monts's dossier. He had been born in Cole Harbour, a small town near Dartmouth, across the harbour from Halifax. What has prompted this Acadian to move halfway across the world and become the lead man for the Secret Service in Egypt?
"So what do you know about the Acacia, Mr. Bond?"
"If I'm not mistaken, the ancient Egyptians believed that the acacia tree of Saosis was the tree of life."
"Ah yes, the tree in which life and death are enclosed. But I'm talking about the practical aspects rather than the mythological plant that pulls the dead back from the abyss."
"I know that the gum arabic comes from the Acacia tree."
"From two types, in fact: Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal. The gum arabic is used in everything from soft drinks to fireworks. Until 1990, the Sudan produced 80% of the world's gum arabic, but it has recently dropped to less than 50%. Even so, they are
the largest single producer of the stuff and I believe they mean to maintain their control no matter what."
Notes:
1) I write what I can with those words and this was what came to my mind, so don't blame me if it doesn't make a lick of sense, okay? I had to research the genus Acacia and Egyptian mythology for this thing on top of trying to write a Bond intro in French!
2) There's a line stolen straight from Seinfeld in there. Guess where it is!
3) Bond's contacts are usually people who seem to blend into the environment and stand out at the same time. I had to mention an Acadian in there, so why not describe someone I already know? ^_^ Pierre de Monts was the Governor of Acadia, who established the first French settlement in North America. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)
4) Many thanks to Josh for describing the location of Cole Harbour so succinctly.
5) Bond loves Turkish coffee.
6) All that arabic gum stuff is from some quick research on Wikipedia.
Cooking Attempt #19: Carrot cake
I've been putting off trying this recipe, because it seems like such a hassle to grate carrots. I cut my finger on the grater, which is always a nice cooking deterrent. Awesome!
But in the end, it turned out very nicely, except that the recipe told me to bake it for 50 minutes, which is too long. At first I thought it was my oven, but I've tried recipes (like the banana bread) from other websites which turn out just fine. So in the future, I must remember to subtract 20 minutes from the baking time on the Metro Grocery recipes.
Also, the recipe told me to ice the cake using 1.5 cups of icing sugar and 500g of cream cheese. O_O Does that seem like a lot of icing to anyone? Well maybe it isn't and I'm just balking at the amount of sugar that they recommend you put in. So instead, I spread some light cream cheese on top, which was very nice.
But in the end, it turned out very nicely, except that the recipe told me to bake it for 50 minutes, which is too long. At first I thought it was my oven, but I've tried recipes (like the banana bread) from other websites which turn out just fine. So in the future, I must remember to subtract 20 minutes from the baking time on the Metro Grocery recipes.
Also, the recipe told me to ice the cake using 1.5 cups of icing sugar and 500g of cream cheese. O_O Does that seem like a lot of icing to anyone? Well maybe it isn't and I'm just balking at the amount of sugar that they recommend you put in. So instead, I spread some light cream cheese on top, which was very nice.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
French vocab exercise 006
Two vocab exercises in one day? Gasp!
I just can't seem to study French without getting bored, so I figure this is a distraction that still contributes to my learning.
This composition is a continuation of the first exercise with a dash of the second thrown in. It's very soap opera, but one does what one can with five words.
-absolu: complete
absolument: entirely
-absorber: to soak up, to blot
absorption: swallowing, taking, apsorption, assimilation
-absoudre: to absolve
absolution: absolution
-s'abstenir: to abstain, to refrain
abstinence: abstinence
-abstraire: to abstract
s'abstraire: to cut oneself off
abstraction: abstraction
faire abstracton de: to take no account of, to ignore, to disregard
abstrait: abstract
abstraitement: abstractly
Le Docteur Maillat était absolument absorbé par ses pensées quand l'abbot l'a trouvé dans la chambre d'audience. "J'ai entendu que vous vouliez me voir, mais je ne vous connais pas, Monsieur."
Le Docteur l'a interrompu, "Pardonnez-moi pour avoir venu sans introduction, mais j'ai découvert que vous étiez présent quand Madame Pompadou était mourante."
"Abstenez-vous de continuer votre histoire, Monsieur. Je ne peux pas tromper la confiance d'un âme au supplice, mais je vous offre l'absolution pour vos actions."
Le pauvre homme s'est mis à genoux pour l'implorer, mais l'abbot a fait abstraction de son douleur et est sorti sans un autre mot.
Après quelques minutes de silence, le Dr Maillat a pris contrôle de ses émotions, s'est levé lentement et est sorti de la chambre.
Translation:
Dr. Maillat was completely absorbed in his thoughts when the abbot found him in the audience chamber. "I heard that you wanted to see me, but I do not know you, sir."
The doctor interrupted, "Excuse me for having come without an introduction, but I found out that you were present when Madame Pompadou was dying."
"Refrain from continuing, sir. I cannot betray the confidence of a soul in torment, but I offer you absolution for your actions."
The poor man dropped to his knees to beg, but the abbot ignored his pain and left without another word.
After a few minutes of silence, Dr. Maillat controlled his emotions, stood up slowly and left the room.
Ah, where do I get such stuff? All of a sudden, I want to read Count of Monte Cristo again.
I just can't seem to study French without getting bored, so I figure this is a distraction that still contributes to my learning.
This composition is a continuation of the first exercise with a dash of the second thrown in. It's very soap opera, but one does what one can with five words.
-absolu: complete
absolument: entirely
-absorber: to soak up, to blot
absorption: swallowing, taking, apsorption, assimilation
-absoudre: to absolve
absolution: absolution
-s'abstenir: to abstain, to refrain
abstinence: abstinence
-abstraire: to abstract
s'abstraire: to cut oneself off
abstraction: abstraction
faire abstracton de: to take no account of, to ignore, to disregard
abstrait: abstract
abstraitement: abstractly
Le Docteur Maillat était absolument absorbé par ses pensées quand l'abbot l'a trouvé dans la chambre d'audience. "J'ai entendu que vous vouliez me voir, mais je ne vous connais pas, Monsieur."
Le Docteur l'a interrompu, "Pardonnez-moi pour avoir venu sans introduction, mais j'ai découvert que vous étiez présent quand Madame Pompadou était mourante."
"Abstenez-vous de continuer votre histoire, Monsieur. Je ne peux pas tromper la confiance d'un âme au supplice, mais je vous offre l'absolution pour vos actions."
Le pauvre homme s'est mis à genoux pour l'implorer, mais l'abbot a fait abstraction de son douleur et est sorti sans un autre mot.
Après quelques minutes de silence, le Dr Maillat a pris contrôle de ses émotions, s'est levé lentement et est sorti de la chambre.
Translation:
Dr. Maillat was completely absorbed in his thoughts when the abbot found him in the audience chamber. "I heard that you wanted to see me, but I do not know you, sir."
The doctor interrupted, "Excuse me for having come without an introduction, but I found out that you were present when Madame Pompadou was dying."
"Refrain from continuing, sir. I cannot betray the confidence of a soul in torment, but I offer you absolution for your actions."
The poor man dropped to his knees to beg, but the abbot ignored his pain and left without another word.
After a few minutes of silence, Dr. Maillat controlled his emotions, stood up slowly and left the room.
Ah, where do I get such stuff? All of a sudden, I want to read Count of Monte Cristo again.
French vocab exercise 005
Health and Physical Assessment exam went pretty well, although I think I could have studied the chapter on breasts a bit better. Ah wellity wellity...
The next exam is French Grammar on Friday, so I think this is a pretty good way to study. Next 10 words from the dictionary!
-abricot: apricot
abricotier: apricot tree
-abriter: to shelter, to house, to shade
abrité: sheltered
abrivent: windbreak
abri: shelter, refuge
à l'abri: in a safe place
à l'abri de: sheltered/hidden from
Abribus: bus shelter
-abroger: to repeal, to rescind, to abrogate
abrogation: repeal
-abrupt: steep, abrupt, sheer
abruptement: abruptly, brusquely, curtly
-abrutir: to turn into an idiot, to stupefy
s'abrutir: to turn into an idiot
abruti: idiot
abrutissant: mindnumbing
abrutissement: mindless state
-abscisse: abscissa - x-coordinate of a point
-abscons: abstruse
-absenter: to be absent
absence: absence
absent: absent or absentee
-abside: apse
absidiole: apsidiole
-absinthe: absinthe
J'ai tombé sur l'abruti abrité sous un abricotier. Il était mort ivre à l'absinthe. Je l'ai secoué par les épaules et il s'est réveillé abruptement. Le pauvre rustre serrait un papier jauni par le temps dans ses mains tremblants. Il a dit, "Ont-ils abrogé la loi contre des pirates? Monsieur? Aidez-moi." J'ai pris le papier, qui était une carte d'un église. Une abside était marqué d'une croix rouge à côté de laquelle quelqu'un avait gribouillé, "Mais où est l'abscisse?" J'ai rendu le papier à l'homme qui marmonnait tout seul. J'ai cueilli un abricot de l'arbre en prenant une petite bouteille de ma poche. J'ai tapoté quelques gouttes de la liquide qui sentait l'amande sur le fruit que j'ai donné au fou. Il l'a englouti à toute vitesse. Peu après, j'étais tout seul sous l'abricotier dans le champ jaune.
Wow. I really don't mean for these things to be so bloody bleak. It started off like a pale imitation of Alphonse Daudet, with the rustic atmosphere and such. A better imitation would be, you know, better written and probably in passé simple, which I don't know how to use quite yet. Ah well. Perhaps another time.
Translation:
I came across the fool, sheltered under an apricot tree. He was dead drunk from absinthe. I shook him by the shoulders and he awoke abruptly. The poor brute held a piece of yellowing paper in his trembling hands. He said, "Have they repealed the law against pirates? Sir? Help me." I took the paper, which was a map of a church. An apse was marked by a red X next to which someone had scribbled, "But where is the x-coordinate?" I handed the paper back to the man who was now muttering to himself. I plucked an apricot from the tree while taking a small bottle from my pocket. I tapped a few drops of the almond-smelling liquid on the fruit and gave it to the madman. He gobbled it up quickly. It was not long before I was all alone under the apricot tree in the yellow field.
The next exam is French Grammar on Friday, so I think this is a pretty good way to study. Next 10 words from the dictionary!
-abricot: apricot
abricotier: apricot tree
-abriter: to shelter, to house, to shade
abrité: sheltered
abrivent: windbreak
abri: shelter, refuge
à l'abri: in a safe place
à l'abri de: sheltered/hidden from
Abribus: bus shelter
-abroger: to repeal, to rescind, to abrogate
abrogation: repeal
-abrupt: steep, abrupt, sheer
abruptement: abruptly, brusquely, curtly
-abrutir: to turn into an idiot, to stupefy
s'abrutir: to turn into an idiot
abruti: idiot
abrutissant: mindnumbing
abrutissement: mindless state
-abscisse: abscissa - x-coordinate of a point
-abscons: abstruse
-absenter: to be absent
absence: absence
absent: absent or absentee
-abside: apse
absidiole: apsidiole
-absinthe: absinthe
J'ai tombé sur l'abruti abrité sous un abricotier. Il était mort ivre à l'absinthe. Je l'ai secoué par les épaules et il s'est réveillé abruptement. Le pauvre rustre serrait un papier jauni par le temps dans ses mains tremblants. Il a dit, "Ont-ils abrogé la loi contre des pirates? Monsieur? Aidez-moi." J'ai pris le papier, qui était une carte d'un église. Une abside était marqué d'une croix rouge à côté de laquelle quelqu'un avait gribouillé, "Mais où est l'abscisse?" J'ai rendu le papier à l'homme qui marmonnait tout seul. J'ai cueilli un abricot de l'arbre en prenant une petite bouteille de ma poche. J'ai tapoté quelques gouttes de la liquide qui sentait l'amande sur le fruit que j'ai donné au fou. Il l'a englouti à toute vitesse. Peu après, j'étais tout seul sous l'abricotier dans le champ jaune.
Wow. I really don't mean for these things to be so bloody bleak. It started off like a pale imitation of Alphonse Daudet, with the rustic atmosphere and such. A better imitation would be, you know, better written and probably in passé simple, which I don't know how to use quite yet. Ah well. Perhaps another time.
Translation:
I came across the fool, sheltered under an apricot tree. He was dead drunk from absinthe. I shook him by the shoulders and he awoke abruptly. The poor brute held a piece of yellowing paper in his trembling hands. He said, "Have they repealed the law against pirates? Sir? Help me." I took the paper, which was a map of a church. An apse was marked by a red X next to which someone had scribbled, "But where is the x-coordinate?" I handed the paper back to the man who was now muttering to himself. I plucked an apricot from the tree while taking a small bottle from my pocket. I tapped a few drops of the almond-smelling liquid on the fruit and gave it to the madman. He gobbled it up quickly. It was not long before I was all alone under the apricot tree in the yellow field.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
How to Study like Jutea in 20 Easy Steps!
Step 1: Mark down the location, time and worth of all your exams on the calendar hanging in the kitchen with bright coloured markers.
Step 2: Complain about the dates. If they're all squished together, complain that you don't have enough time to study. If they're far apart, complain that the exam period is ridiculously long.
Step 3: Compile all lecture slides, reading notes and whatever study aid you've got for each course and put them together using bright coloured clips. Just because your heart is filled with black despair (or at least some slushy grey annoyance), it doesn't mean that everything else in this process has to be just as bleak.
Step 4: Highlight to your heart's content, like there's no tomorrow, until kingdom come! Screw the physiology prof who said that highlighting doesn't help you study! At this point, he can shove his endocrinologist superiority right up his-
Step 5: Read everything over.
Step 6: Try to calculate what mark you should get on each exam to maintain your 3.81 GPA.
Step 7: Curse physiology to damnation.
Step 8: Get back to studying for the first exam. Poke at various parts of your body, hoping that the resulting bruises will help you remember the landmarks for Health and Physical Assessment.
Step 9: Start thinking that you can condense the lecture slides even more if you could just pick out the info that you're iffy on. Waffle back and forth until you throw up your hands in frustration and condense the info by hand into 8 pages.
Step 10: Proclaim yourself awesome.
Step 11: Put on some music. Something upbeat and easy to whistle along to.
Step 12: Whistle along to John Williams music while studying.
Step 13: Make fries from scratch. Carbs are good for the brain!
Step 14: Whistle along to James Bond theme songs while eating fries and studying.
Step 15: Start wondering what assessing Sean Connery's respiratory system might be like.
Step 16: Feel proud that you remembered to moisten his chest hair so that it wouldn't rustle against the diaphragm of your stethoscope in your oddball clinical fantasy.
Step 17: Make a pointless to-do list. "Study. Eat. Study. Sleep. Eat. Study. EXAM!!! Study. Eat. Study..."
Step 18: Wonder what you should eat for dinner.
Step 19: Procrastinate by writing a blog entry on how to study like self.
Step 20: GET BACK TO STUDYING!
Step 2: Complain about the dates. If they're all squished together, complain that you don't have enough time to study. If they're far apart, complain that the exam period is ridiculously long.
Step 3: Compile all lecture slides, reading notes and whatever study aid you've got for each course and put them together using bright coloured clips. Just because your heart is filled with black despair (or at least some slushy grey annoyance), it doesn't mean that everything else in this process has to be just as bleak.
Step 4: Highlight to your heart's content, like there's no tomorrow, until kingdom come! Screw the physiology prof who said that highlighting doesn't help you study! At this point, he can shove his endocrinologist superiority right up his-
Step 5: Read everything over.
Step 6: Try to calculate what mark you should get on each exam to maintain your 3.81 GPA.
Step 7: Curse physiology to damnation.
Step 8: Get back to studying for the first exam. Poke at various parts of your body, hoping that the resulting bruises will help you remember the landmarks for Health and Physical Assessment.
Step 9: Start thinking that you can condense the lecture slides even more if you could just pick out the info that you're iffy on. Waffle back and forth until you throw up your hands in frustration and condense the info by hand into 8 pages.
Step 10: Proclaim yourself awesome.
Step 11: Put on some music. Something upbeat and easy to whistle along to.
Step 12: Whistle along to John Williams music while studying.
Step 13: Make fries from scratch. Carbs are good for the brain!
Step 14: Whistle along to James Bond theme songs while eating fries and studying.
Step 15: Start wondering what assessing Sean Connery's respiratory system might be like.
Step 16: Feel proud that you remembered to moisten his chest hair so that it wouldn't rustle against the diaphragm of your stethoscope in your oddball clinical fantasy.
Step 17: Make a pointless to-do list. "Study. Eat. Study. Sleep. Eat. Study. EXAM!!! Study. Eat. Study..."
Step 18: Wonder what you should eat for dinner.
Step 19: Procrastinate by writing a blog entry on how to study like self.
Step 20: GET BACK TO STUDYING!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
French vocab exercise 004
On continue avec les 10 mots qui suivent dans la dictionnaire. Je remercie Lilian pour l'expression "de jour en jour". ^_^;;
-aboucher: to butt, to join up
s'aboucher avec: to get in touch with...
-abouler: to hand, to give over
s'abouler: to come along
-aboulie: aboulia - a symptom of mental disorder involving impairment or loss of volition
-aboutir: to succeed
aboutir à: to end at/in, to lead to, to result in
abouti: successful
aboutissement: outcome, result
-aboyer: to bark
aboyer après/contre: to yell at
-abracadabrant: bewildering
-abrasion: abrasion, wearing off
abrasif: abrasive
-abréger: to curtail, to cut short, to shorten
abréger les souffrances de qqn: to put an end to someone's suffering
abrégé: summary, abstract, epitome
-abreuver: to water
abreuver qqn (d'insultes, d'éloges) : to shower someone (with abuse, with praise)
abreuvoir: drinking trough, watering place
-abréviation: abbreviation
Un rapport par une infirmière dépourvu de tact:
La cliente souffre de la démence sérieuse qui s'aggrave de jour en jour. Une de ses symptomes est l'aboulie, à cause de laquelle une infirmière doit être présente pour tous les repas et l'aider à manger. La disposition de la cliente peut changer dans un instant et son comportement peut devenir tout à coup abrasif. Il y avait plusieurs occasions où elle a abreuvé l'infirmière d'une collection abracadabrante d'insultes. Son humeur empire chaque fois qu'elle s'abouche avec sa famille. Une abréviation de la dernière rencontre entre eux est comprise dans sa courbe. L'infirmière a dû abréger la visite, parce que son fils a dérangeait tout le monde dans l'institution. Après que sa famille est partie, l'infirmière en chef a parlé à la cliente au sujet de réduire la nombre de leur visite. La cliente a aboyé contre l'infirmière en chef, mais on a finalement abouti à la convaincre de s'abouler.
A report by a tactless nurse:
The client suffers from severe dementia which worsens day by day. One of her symptoms is aboulia, due to which a nurse must be present for all meals and help her to eat. The mood of the client can change in an instant and her behaviour can become abrasive suddenly. There have been many occasions when she has showered the nurse with a bewildering array of insults. Her mood worsens every time she comes into contact with her family. An abstract of their last encounter is included in her chart. The nurse had to cut the visit short, because her son was disturbing everyone in the institution. After her family left, the head nurse talked to the client about reducing the number of visits. The client yelled at the head nurse, but we finally succeeded in convincing her to come along.
You just know there's an incidence report somewhere that's written like this and it's very sad.
-aboucher: to butt, to join up
s'aboucher avec: to get in touch with...
-abouler: to hand, to give over
s'abouler: to come along
-aboulie: aboulia - a symptom of mental disorder involving impairment or loss of volition
-aboutir: to succeed
aboutir à: to end at/in, to lead to, to result in
abouti: successful
aboutissement: outcome, result
-aboyer: to bark
aboyer après/contre: to yell at
-abracadabrant: bewildering
-abrasion: abrasion, wearing off
abrasif: abrasive
-abréger: to curtail, to cut short, to shorten
abréger les souffrances de qqn: to put an end to someone's suffering
abrégé: summary, abstract, epitome
-abreuver: to water
abreuver qqn (d'insultes, d'éloges) : to shower someone (with abuse, with praise)
abreuvoir: drinking trough, watering place
-abréviation: abbreviation
Un rapport par une infirmière dépourvu de tact:
La cliente souffre de la démence sérieuse qui s'aggrave de jour en jour. Une de ses symptomes est l'aboulie, à cause de laquelle une infirmière doit être présente pour tous les repas et l'aider à manger. La disposition de la cliente peut changer dans un instant et son comportement peut devenir tout à coup abrasif. Il y avait plusieurs occasions où elle a abreuvé l'infirmière d'une collection abracadabrante d'insultes. Son humeur empire chaque fois qu'elle s'abouche avec sa famille. Une abréviation de la dernière rencontre entre eux est comprise dans sa courbe. L'infirmière a dû abréger la visite, parce que son fils a dérangeait tout le monde dans l'institution. Après que sa famille est partie, l'infirmière en chef a parlé à la cliente au sujet de réduire la nombre de leur visite. La cliente a aboyé contre l'infirmière en chef, mais on a finalement abouti à la convaincre de s'abouler.
A report by a tactless nurse:
The client suffers from severe dementia which worsens day by day. One of her symptoms is aboulia, due to which a nurse must be present for all meals and help her to eat. The mood of the client can change in an instant and her behaviour can become abrasive suddenly. There have been many occasions when she has showered the nurse with a bewildering array of insults. Her mood worsens every time she comes into contact with her family. An abstract of their last encounter is included in her chart. The nurse had to cut the visit short, because her son was disturbing everyone in the institution. After her family left, the head nurse talked to the client about reducing the number of visits. The client yelled at the head nurse, but we finally succeeded in convincing her to come along.
You just know there's an incidence report somewhere that's written like this and it's very sad.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
French vocab exercise 003
Wow, these compositions are bleak, aren't they? This is what you get when all your words start with the Latin prefix of "a" or "ab". Go go Latin and Greek in Scientific Terminology! (U of T CLA 201 for those of you who are interested. Professor Traill is an awesome man.)
On utilise 15 nouveaux mots aujourd'hui.
-abhorrer: to loathe, to abhor
-abîmer: to spoil, to damage
abîme: chasm, abyss
s'abîmer la santé: to ruin one's health
s'abîmer dans (ses pensées, le désespoir): to be lost in thought, to be plunged in despair
-abjection: utter humiliation, vileness
-abjurer: to recant
-ablation: removal, ablation
ablette: bleak
-ablution: ablution
-abnégation: self-denial
avec abnégation: selflessly
-aboiement: bark, ranting, raving
-abolir: to abolish
-abominable: abominable
-abonder: to be plentiful
abondant: abundant
-abonner: to subscribe
abonné: subscriber
-aborder: to accost, to walk up to
abord: manner
abordable: reasonable, affordable
abordage: boarding
-aborigène: aboriginal
-abortif: abortive
Si le personnage Jackie Chiles était français:
"J'abhorre ce qu'on fait aujourd'hui dans ce tribunal! Mon client, un humble aborigène, est accusé de troubler l'ordre public! Il a été soumis à l'abjection! Il s'est abîmé dans le désespoir! C'est abominable que l'accusateur a abordé mon client, un sûr abonné du journal, dans un bibliothèque où il se délectait de l'abondance des livres! Mon client a été soumis à l'aboiement de l'accusateur, qui est atrocement libre! Il n'est pas accusé de troubler l'ordre public! Il n'affronte pas une période d'abnégation ablette pendant que mon client est au bord d'un abîme! L'ablation de mon client du domaine public montre que notre société a désespérément besoin d'une ablution. Nous devons abolir cette soi-disant justice, qui est difforme, abortive, prématurée, absurde! L'accusateur doit abjurer, renoncer et abroger! Nous devons punir le vrai criminel! Merci."
Translation - A speech of Jackie Chiles (from Seinfeld) in court:
"I abhor what we are doing today in this court! My client, a humble aboriginal man, has been accused of public disturbance! He has been put through utter humiliation! He has been thrown into the depths of despair! It is abominable that the accuser would accost my client, a faithful newspaper subscriber, in a library where he was reveling in the abundance of books! My client has been subjected to the raving of the accuser, who shockingly stands free! He has not been accused of public disturbance! He does not face a period of bleak self-denial while my client stands on the edge of an abyss! My client's removal from a public domain shows that our society is in desperate need of an ablution. We must abolish this so-called justice, which is malformed, abortive, premature, preposterous! The accuser must recant, abnegate and abrogate! We must punish the real criminal! Thank you."
This was really hard, because I had to make the writing as flamboyant as possible while using all these negative words I happen to be blessed with today. The thesaurus came in very handy and Josh helped me word the sentences properly so that it's as close as possible to the real thing. I bolded and italicized certain words so that you could get a sense of how the character talks. Yay, it's done! Whee!!!
On utilise 15 nouveaux mots aujourd'hui.
-abhorrer: to loathe, to abhor
-abîmer: to spoil, to damage
abîme: chasm, abyss
s'abîmer la santé: to ruin one's health
s'abîmer dans (ses pensées, le désespoir): to be lost in thought, to be plunged in despair
-abjection: utter humiliation, vileness
-abjurer: to recant
-ablation: removal, ablation
ablette: bleak
-ablution: ablution
-abnégation: self-denial
avec abnégation: selflessly
-aboiement: bark, ranting, raving
-abolir: to abolish
-abominable: abominable
-abonder: to be plentiful
abondant: abundant
-abonner: to subscribe
abonné: subscriber
-aborder: to accost, to walk up to
abord: manner
abordable: reasonable, affordable
abordage: boarding
-aborigène: aboriginal
-abortif: abortive
Si le personnage Jackie Chiles était français:
"J'abhorre ce qu'on fait aujourd'hui dans ce tribunal! Mon client, un humble aborigène, est accusé de troubler l'ordre public! Il a été soumis à l'abjection! Il s'est abîmé dans le désespoir! C'est abominable que l'accusateur a abordé mon client, un sûr abonné du journal, dans un bibliothèque où il se délectait de l'abondance des livres! Mon client a été soumis à l'aboiement de l'accusateur, qui est atrocement libre! Il n'est pas accusé de troubler l'ordre public! Il n'affronte pas une période d'abnégation ablette pendant que mon client est au bord d'un abîme! L'ablation de mon client du domaine public montre que notre société a désespérément besoin d'une ablution. Nous devons abolir cette soi-disant justice, qui est difforme, abortive, prématurée, absurde! L'accusateur doit abjurer, renoncer et abroger! Nous devons punir le vrai criminel! Merci."
Translation - A speech of Jackie Chiles (from Seinfeld) in court:
"I abhor what we are doing today in this court! My client, a humble aboriginal man, has been accused of public disturbance! He has been put through utter humiliation! He has been thrown into the depths of despair! It is abominable that the accuser would accost my client, a faithful newspaper subscriber, in a library where he was reveling in the abundance of books! My client has been subjected to the raving of the accuser, who shockingly stands free! He has not been accused of public disturbance! He does not face a period of bleak self-denial while my client stands on the edge of an abyss! My client's removal from a public domain shows that our society is in desperate need of an ablution. We must abolish this so-called justice, which is malformed, abortive, premature, preposterous! The accuser must recant, abnegate and abrogate! We must punish the real criminal! Thank you."
This was really hard, because I had to make the writing as flamboyant as possible while using all these negative words I happen to be blessed with today. The thesaurus came in very handy and Josh helped me word the sentences properly so that it's as close as possible to the real thing. I bolded and italicized certain words so that you could get a sense of how the character talks. Yay, it's done! Whee!!!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
French vocab exercise 002
I'm a bad person. I skipped French today, because it was windy and cold and I didn't fancy going all the way there just to roll my eyes while other students ask endless questions about points of grammar that aren't all that complicated. Am I conceited? Well yes. But plusque parfait isn't the most difficult of conjugations, okay? Just sayin'.
As a penance (skipping right ahead before someone beats me over the head for my insolence), I'm going to use 10 words instead of 5 today.
-abat-jour: lampshade
-abattre: to cut down, to knock down
abatis: (Québec term) land being deforested for cultivation
abattage: slaughtering, felling
abats: offal, giblets
s'abattre: to collapse
-abbaye: abbey
abbé: abbot
abbesse: abbess
-abcès: abscess
crever/ouvrir/vider l'abcès: to make a clean breast of things
-abdiquer: to abdicate, to surrender
-abdomen: abdomen
abdos: abs, stomach exercises
-abécédaire: primer, alphabet book
-abeille: bee
-aberrant: deviant, ridiculous, absurd
aberration: aberration
-abêtir: to dull the mind of
s'abêtir: to become mindless or half-witted
L'abbé regardait l'abeille qui bourdonnait doucement sur l'abat-jour. En ce moment-là, il enviait l'abeille, qui ne s'inquiétait pas de la guerre et l'abattage dans le pays. Le roi avait refusé d'abdiquer il y a trois jours, et les rébelles avaient abattu le palais en représailles. Ils ont capturé le dauphin, un petit enfant qui étudiait l'abécédaire encore, et l'a poignardé dans l'abdomen pendant que sa mère regardait. La reine s'est abêtie de l'épreuve. En ce moment même, les rébelles brûlaient le roi en effigie et l'appellait un abcès du pays. L'abbot a été écoeuré par leur prétention. C'était un aberration dans l'ordre des choses. Il s'est levé de la chaise et a écrasé l'abeille entre ses doigts.
Translation:
The abbot stared at the bee which buzzed softly on the lampshade. For a moment, he envied the bee, which was unconcerned by the war and slaughter in the country. Three days before, the king had refused to abdicate and the rebels had torn down the palace in retaliation. They captured the crown prince, a small child still learning his primer, and stabbed him in the stomach while his mother watched. The queen had gone insane from the ordeal. Even now, the rebels burned effigies of the king and called him an abscess of the country. The abbot was disgusted by their claims. It was an aberration in the natural order. He rose out the chair and crushed the bee between his fingers.
I guess I was inspired by the "A Game of Thrones" series. ^_^
As a penance (skipping right ahead before someone beats me over the head for my insolence), I'm going to use 10 words instead of 5 today.
-abat-jour: lampshade
-abattre: to cut down, to knock down
abatis: (Québec term) land being deforested for cultivation
abattage: slaughtering, felling
abats: offal, giblets
s'abattre: to collapse
-abbaye: abbey
abbé: abbot
abbesse: abbess
-abcès: abscess
crever/ouvrir/vider l'abcès: to make a clean breast of things
-abdiquer: to abdicate, to surrender
-abdomen: abdomen
abdos: abs, stomach exercises
-abécédaire: primer, alphabet book
-abeille: bee
-aberrant: deviant, ridiculous, absurd
aberration: aberration
-abêtir: to dull the mind of
s'abêtir: to become mindless or half-witted
L'abbé regardait l'abeille qui bourdonnait doucement sur l'abat-jour. En ce moment-là, il enviait l'abeille, qui ne s'inquiétait pas de la guerre et l'abattage dans le pays. Le roi avait refusé d'abdiquer il y a trois jours, et les rébelles avaient abattu le palais en représailles. Ils ont capturé le dauphin, un petit enfant qui étudiait l'abécédaire encore, et l'a poignardé dans l'abdomen pendant que sa mère regardait. La reine s'est abêtie de l'épreuve. En ce moment même, les rébelles brûlaient le roi en effigie et l'appellait un abcès du pays. L'abbot a été écoeuré par leur prétention. C'était un aberration dans l'ordre des choses. Il s'est levé de la chaise et a écrasé l'abeille entre ses doigts.
Translation:
The abbot stared at the bee which buzzed softly on the lampshade. For a moment, he envied the bee, which was unconcerned by the war and slaughter in the country. Three days before, the king had refused to abdicate and the rebels had torn down the palace in retaliation. They captured the crown prince, a small child still learning his primer, and stabbed him in the stomach while his mother watched. The queen had gone insane from the ordeal. Even now, the rebels burned effigies of the king and called him an abscess of the country. The abbot was disgusted by their claims. It was an aberration in the natural order. He rose out the chair and crushed the bee between his fingers.
I guess I was inspired by the "A Game of Thrones" series. ^_^
A Seinfeldian Dream
It's getting to be that time again, when I get just a bit more insane with the pressures of school. Usually, my dreams are full of battles and blood, but this time, it was a strange mix of reality and fiction.
The dream started off with my parents coming to visit me in Montreal. They had brought a bunch of stuff for me, which included a hideous desk lamp. There were a dozen stainless steel arms of varying size, each with a different sized lightbulb under a bright red shade. This isn't important at all. It just stood out, because of its sheer unadulterated ugliness.
Then my parents decide to go out and get more groceries for me and I stay at home. I get a phone call from a made-up friend, who does not really exist and were I to describe him, he would be a less interesting version of Aaron Tsang. He tells me that he met my parents at the grocery store and he pretended that he was my boyfriend[1]. He seems to think that he did a good job and hints that he would like to me buy him dinner for fooling them so well[2]. We met at a Chinese restaurant where the sushi chef works at a counter which opens out into the street (sushi chef at a Chinese restaurant?). The imaginary friend talks to the sushi chef, even though we're not really inside the restaurant.
While we're standing on the street, two of my real-life nursing friends (Rachel and Stephanie) walk by and it becomes very awkward, because Rachel used to go out with my imaginary friend. The imaginary friend says that he's leaving, but before he does, he tells me that he loves me. I feel bad, but I tell him that I don't feel the same way. For some reason, I have the key to the restaurant register, so I open it up and take out $108 (5 $20 bills, 1 $5 bill and 3 loonies). I give the money to the imaginary friend and ask him to go away[3]. He does and Rachel says, "Oh, it's a good thing you guys are together." and I say, "No, we're really not!" The restaurant owner comes over to me and yells at me for stealing from the cash register. He puts my name down on the list of people who are banned from the restaurant[4], but when I look at it, the scribbles don't look anything like my name. I get kicked out of the restaurant and my friends and I start walking home.
I start to feel bad for rejecting my imaginary friend, so I decide to bake something for him and all of a sudden, I'm in a cooking competition with a bunch of my nursing friends and a prof as the host. She says that we have a short amount of time to make a dessert and points to a table with ready-made ingredients. I start off with three tiny pieces of dough. Two small squares the size of ravioli and one thin rectangle. I decide to put the two squares together with the rectangle, using melted butter. I start off by using a small paintbrush to rub the butter on the dough and then all of a sudden, it's like a videogame[5] and I'm using a mouse to brush butter on dough pieces onscreen. For some reason, I just can't stop buttering the dough and just before the time's up, I manage to plop it down on this thing that looks like a pie with a really round top crust. The prof/host says that we're out of time, so we can put our desserts away in our lockers and bake them next week.
I got home and started to e-mail my friends about something or other and Rachel says to me, "It's good that you know how to use the school e-mail system."
Then I woke up and I was really hungee.
So it's not as horrific as the leeches under the skin or assassins trying to kill me in hospital elevators or trying to stab dinosaurs in the eye with arrows, but it's somehow less coherent in some way. I think they're actually getting mellower!
[1] Seinfeld episode "The Beard" - Elaine pretends to be the girlfriend of a gay guy to fool his conservative boss.
[2] Seinfeld character Kenny Banya - He's constantly badgering Jerry to take him out to dinner.
[3] Seinfeld episode "The Strongbox" - Elaine starts dating a poor guy and tries to break up with him by paying him off.
[4] Seinfeld episode "The Race" - Elaine gets blacklisted from a Chinese restaurant.
[5] Cooking Mama - Cooking video game. Can't remember if I ever had to butter dough in it, though.
The dream started off with my parents coming to visit me in Montreal. They had brought a bunch of stuff for me, which included a hideous desk lamp. There were a dozen stainless steel arms of varying size, each with a different sized lightbulb under a bright red shade. This isn't important at all. It just stood out, because of its sheer unadulterated ugliness.
Then my parents decide to go out and get more groceries for me and I stay at home. I get a phone call from a made-up friend, who does not really exist and were I to describe him, he would be a less interesting version of Aaron Tsang. He tells me that he met my parents at the grocery store and he pretended that he was my boyfriend[1]. He seems to think that he did a good job and hints that he would like to me buy him dinner for fooling them so well[2]. We met at a Chinese restaurant where the sushi chef works at a counter which opens out into the street (sushi chef at a Chinese restaurant?). The imaginary friend talks to the sushi chef, even though we're not really inside the restaurant.
While we're standing on the street, two of my real-life nursing friends (Rachel and Stephanie) walk by and it becomes very awkward, because Rachel used to go out with my imaginary friend. The imaginary friend says that he's leaving, but before he does, he tells me that he loves me. I feel bad, but I tell him that I don't feel the same way. For some reason, I have the key to the restaurant register, so I open it up and take out $108 (5 $20 bills, 1 $5 bill and 3 loonies). I give the money to the imaginary friend and ask him to go away[3]. He does and Rachel says, "Oh, it's a good thing you guys are together." and I say, "No, we're really not!" The restaurant owner comes over to me and yells at me for stealing from the cash register. He puts my name down on the list of people who are banned from the restaurant[4], but when I look at it, the scribbles don't look anything like my name. I get kicked out of the restaurant and my friends and I start walking home.
I start to feel bad for rejecting my imaginary friend, so I decide to bake something for him and all of a sudden, I'm in a cooking competition with a bunch of my nursing friends and a prof as the host. She says that we have a short amount of time to make a dessert and points to a table with ready-made ingredients. I start off with three tiny pieces of dough. Two small squares the size of ravioli and one thin rectangle. I decide to put the two squares together with the rectangle, using melted butter. I start off by using a small paintbrush to rub the butter on the dough and then all of a sudden, it's like a videogame[5] and I'm using a mouse to brush butter on dough pieces onscreen. For some reason, I just can't stop buttering the dough and just before the time's up, I manage to plop it down on this thing that looks like a pie with a really round top crust. The prof/host says that we're out of time, so we can put our desserts away in our lockers and bake them next week.
I got home and started to e-mail my friends about something or other and Rachel says to me, "It's good that you know how to use the school e-mail system."
Then I woke up and I was really hungee.
So it's not as horrific as the leeches under the skin or assassins trying to kill me in hospital elevators or trying to stab dinosaurs in the eye with arrows, but it's somehow less coherent in some way. I think they're actually getting mellower!
[1] Seinfeld episode "The Beard" - Elaine pretends to be the girlfriend of a gay guy to fool his conservative boss.
[2] Seinfeld character Kenny Banya - He's constantly badgering Jerry to take him out to dinner.
[3] Seinfeld episode "The Strongbox" - Elaine starts dating a poor guy and tries to break up with him by paying him off.
[4] Seinfeld episode "The Race" - Elaine gets blacklisted from a Chinese restaurant.
[5] Cooking Mama - Cooking video game. Can't remember if I ever had to butter dough in it, though.
French vocab exercise 001
Alright, I need to work on my vocabulary a lot and right now, I'm not getting a chance to learn more of it. So I must rely on the old-fashioned elementary school spelling homework exercises. I'm going through my brand spanking new Larousse and writing a brief paragraph using 5 new roots every day. I'll try my best to be entertaining (when am I *NOT*, I dare you to tell me).
Here are the first 5:
-abaisser: to lower, pull down, let down
abaisse: piece of rolled-out pastry
abaisse-langue: tongue depressor
-abandonner: to abandon
s'abandonner: to let someone go, to open one's heart
-abaque: abacus
-abasourdir: to stun
-abâtardir: to cause to degenerate
La dame a laissé tomber son abaque avec incrédulité. Elle a été abasourdie quand le Dr Maillat l'a abandonnée. Il l'avait charmée avec son gentil emploi de l'abaisse-langue et elle s'était abandonnée librement. La trahison a abâtardi sa santé et elle est morte, en maudirant son nom.
Translation:
The lady dropped her abacus in disbelief. She was stunned when Dr. Maillait abandoned her. He had charmed her with the gentle use of his tongue depressor and she had opened her heart freely. The betrayal caused her health to degenerate and she died, cursing his name.
Not bad, huh?
Here are the first 5:
-abaisser: to lower, pull down, let down
abaisse: piece of rolled-out pastry
abaisse-langue: tongue depressor
-abandonner: to abandon
s'abandonner: to let someone go, to open one's heart
-abaque: abacus
-abasourdir: to stun
-abâtardir: to cause to degenerate
La dame a laissé tomber son abaque avec incrédulité. Elle a été abasourdie quand le Dr Maillat l'a abandonnée. Il l'avait charmée avec son gentil emploi de l'abaisse-langue et elle s'était abandonnée librement. La trahison a abâtardi sa santé et elle est morte, en maudirant son nom.
Translation:
The lady dropped her abacus in disbelief. She was stunned when Dr. Maillait abandoned her. He had charmed her with the gentle use of his tongue depressor and she had opened her heart freely. The betrayal caused her health to degenerate and she died, cursing his name.
Not bad, huh?
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