HiBAiSHi

Last week was the first time since I have been here that I have met someone Jewish. They aren’t really popular around Europe for some reason, I don’t know why. We cut up snowflakes because they were non-denominational to put up on the windowsill. Outside of my window, we finally have a Christmas tree. No star of David on top though.

The schooling here is weird. All the practice tests are the same and year after year they ask the same questions. If this were to happen back home, everybody would average around a 90% on their exams. I have seen practice questions like “what is a histogram.” Today I had a lab, but due to some complaints about having exams from my American colleagues, the lab ended up not counting and we just left and receive a grade on our practicals that will be the average of the other three labs. I guess that works out pretty well for me, though I feel a little guilty. Also, despite the fact that I am supposed to be studying I have watched the first half of the first season of 30 Rock. Great show.

Caitie stayed with me the other night and brought brownie balls. She also convinced me that I should friend my 9th/11th grade English teacher/debate coach on facebook. Now we are much closer. I think she stopped teaching now that she has two kids. Too bad. I’m at that stage where stuff like that makes me think how much I would like to go home right about now, but I’m sure two weeks in my own home will make me yearn for school soon enough. Anyway, some links I will share:

• I have an RSS feed from my google reader on the bottom left of this page, but some of the articles I thought were cool include Why People Hate Duke Basketball and Steve McNair being implicated in a “bizarre” lawsuit, to say the least.
• Oh, and mostly due to the sub-prime mortgage market, Capital One along with other credit card companies are dying in the market. Lucky that I wasn’t freaking out about my lack of company stock like everybody else there. I’m interested in knowing, but not interested enough to expend any effort, in finding out who from my summer is actually going to be working a the company. It was weird when this girl I knew from work who is studying at Oxford was talking to me about whether or not I was keeping in touch with anybody, we both awkwardly responded with a “no.” Too bad.
• Michael Vick got sentenced today, to 23 months. I mean, I’m against animal cruelty and all but I think it’s ridiculous that this was a light sentence compared to the five years he could have received. Then again, now that I am more or less a pitbull owner myself, maybe I should be more sympathetic to dogs.
• Still, you compare something like that to Leonard Little, who only received 90 days for killing a woman even though he is a “persistent drunk driver.” Note that this article was written for another DUI that he received, after the one where he killed the woman. Wow.
• I found out that I have the same fashion sense as Jessica Alba. I know. Be impressed. Actually considering this was travel clothing for me and Lakers game clothing for her, that’s a bigger plus, because obviously if I’m dressed that well for a trip consisted of rain and long bus rides, I must dress really well when the weather is nice. Right?
• Just because I am a fan of Pixar movies, here is an extremely comprehensive list of easter eggs found in them. With pictures and everything!
• As the end of the year approaches, we have some study music. This is kind of cool because it aggregates a bunch of “top of 2007 lists.” My list? In no particular order. I think it’s like 11 songs. No albums because I only have the means of downloading songs from music blogs right now. Now’s your chance to comment with your favorite songs of the last year, since its almost over. Shocking eh? 2008!
  • Ted Leo/RX – The Unwanted Things
  • Feist – My Moon My Man
  • LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends
  • R. Kelly ft. Usher – Same Girl
  • Bloc Party – Flux
  • Justice – D.A.N.C.E.
  • M.I.A. – Paper Planes
  • Beirut – The Penalty
  • Rihanna – Umbrella
  • Menomena – Wet and Rustling
  • Outkast – The Art of Storytelling Pt.4
• On a Chargers note, LaDainian Tomlinson of 60 minutes fame, was so upset at his quarterback for throwing two of the worst interceptions I have ever seen that he left the bench as soon as Rivers sat down. Then, surprisingly, they came back from 14 down in the 4th and won that game thanks in large part to Rivers finally playing like a first round pick. Or learning to step up in the pocket and not take 10 yard sacks all the time. But yeah, Lorenzo Neal is also out. I really hope we don’t lose our third straight playoff home game. The thought is upsetting.

• It’s really weird that everybody is going home for Thanksgiving and I am staying here. Everybody is so excited to be getting away from their classes and I really have done less work all semester than I would do in one busy week at school.
• On that note I found out that this girl here is really, really homesick and doesn’t seem to like living in England and traveling at all. Granted, she’s had two bad experiences with some long trips but still kind of sad. She started a countdown to when she would be back at Duke.
• One thing I do miss about Duke, the basketball games, now with stupid new online walk-up line policy instead of the already stupid wristband policy – all in the attempt to boost attendance. Stupid freshman. But then again, when your team is 8-8 in the ACC, how do you expect people to get excited? Anyway, we may not be as well known as Princeton is around in these parts, but at least we can kick their ass. Honestly that score is deceptively close since we were up by 30 in the first half. How do you like your eating clubs now? Bitches.



• While we’re on this sports fix, another link to a Gilbert Arenas article stolen from TrueHoop. Maybe the next time I’m visiting a rich consultant friend in D.C. he can score me some courtside Wizard’s tickets..
  

  Why did three women from Iowa travel halfway across the country, create blinged-out t-shirts, rent a limo, buy a second set of courtside seats, take a 10-hour trip that brought them home at 5 in the morning and spend nearly $10,000 to get a jersey from a player they have no natural reason to care about? Julie considered the question. Her daughter, she told me, thinks that Gilbert and Julie are similar: they relentlessly pursue their obsessions, maximizing their fun along the way, without regard for whether that makes them “different.”

• Oh, and this guy is a Redskins fan and D.C. native (I totally didn’t plan that), and when he found out that the Chargers were going through the Norv Turner experience he started a blog. Here’s the latest. And seriously who the fuck calls an option pass on 4th and 2.
• Moving away from this – despite a ridiculous cost due to a horrendous exchange rate, I decided to buy tickets for CSS and Justice on Dec. 3rd. Coincidentally, this is the day that I return from my pilgrimage to the Netherlands. Joining me are a few new people: Robin, whose friends like to call him ‘Hood; Jesse who has also scaled the mighty tree nine at UCSC, and random girl who got upset that she was charged a pound entry into some bar and made me feel bad so I walked back with her. Better start getting ready to D.A.N.C.E.
• My recent subscriptions to elbo.ws and hypemachine have led me to this recording of a Girl Talk performance in Seattle. I like it just because it’s so similar to the performance I saw when he came to Chapel Hill in December (since it’s a January performance). Notably on Smash Your Head he adds Paula Cole aka Dawson’s Creek Theme Song to Biggie. Why not?
• Regina Spektor performed at Duke yesterday, even though she was sick before. My school is so hip. Kind of. Nancypants also is excited about the potential of a combination of The Roots and Third Eye Blind for LDOC. I don’t believe for a second that’s happening, but it would be really sweet.
• In the same conversation she told me that my editor Varun nabbed a McKinsey full time offer away from our favorite DSG president who shared movies off of his server back in the day. Pretty sweet. In an unrelated story, I remember I was talking to his roommate once about how sometimes he would find Mr. Wolf rolling sushi really late at night. Strange.
• Despite my doubts, Ray’s friends ended up booking the hotel at Paris. Yes, apparently I actually get to stay in Hotels since they are so cheap and plentiful in Paris. Well, kind of cheap. Cheap enough.
• As soon as I get back I am hoping to get into the Fulham vs. Blackburn match with Mr. Brothers – where I get to cheer on Americans like Clint Dempsey … probably get the shit beaten out of them by Blackburn who are 5-1 or something ridiculous. Oh well.
• I am going on an asian vacation disguised as a ski trip to Utah from the 23rd to the 27th. Too bad none of my friends know how to snowboard, which is ridiculous. I guess they’re all from Southern California. Oh wait none of them do any water sports either. Right. At least we play soccer. Yeah, we don’t celebrate Christmas. Oh well. Though if you have watched the season three finale of weeds, you realize just how crazy Christianity is, and I won’t ruin it for you but Doug has an amazing scene. A couple amazing scenes in the season actually. I love Doug.
• On a final note, I will try to make it down to Mexico this break. Because down in mexico… well I don’t really know I’ve only been once. I just wanted to link to that video. Make sure you have your passports!

• If you’re from San Diego, or if you have a conscience, you ought to check out Norman’s amazing Witch Creek story. As my house was on the edge of the fire evacuation zone, with my parents in China at the time, the only thing that affected us ended up being the massive amounts of ash that got into our house. The smell of smoke will persist, and if it ever rains, it will be disgusting.
• For the few sports fans who read this, check out this feature on the namesake of my blog and my favorite professional athlete, Gilbert Arenas. Hard life, admirable commitment to excellence.
• I will never understand humor like “2 Girls, 1 Cup.” I won’t even link to it, because it’s disgusting. Although the reaction videos ARE funny.
• January 23rd, 2008 is my new favorite day of the first month of the new year. Even above my “birthday.” I am conflicted, because on the one hand I’m incredibly excited and on the other hand I’m really scared that I’m going to be very, very disappointing.
• I prefer borderline-crazy-bitch to dull, sheltered, and racist any day of the week. At least I wouldn’t hate myself for it. Sometimes you have to take a chance.
• I tend not to be argumentative about politics or my beliefs, but this weekend probably gave me enough reason to start. Somehow, excessive talk of the virtues of religious state, homophobia, racism, and having other people being dismissive of all opinions and interests outside of their own can do that to you. In case you’re wondering, I support Dr. Ron Paul (R) and Mike Gravel (D), but I will be perfectly content when Hillary Clinton wins the election. On a side note, Dr. Paul received his M.D. from the Duke University School of Medicine. I still tell people I am Libertarian.
• Dr. Mario was one of the hardest games I thought I had ever played, but after getting used to it the difficulty dies down. Still, seems a little bit cruel to kids to make them play this game. Wonder if it helps brain training.
• I’m really scared that I’m not going to get out of the housing lottery and I will have to live in some piece of crap apartment on Central Campus.
• Is it hypocritical to have beliefs and values that you don’t follow? I don’t even want to go into how this would be perfectly okay if I was Christian, but for some reason people say it’s hypocritical for me to be against certain things such as animal cruelty and still eat meat, or sweatshops and still buy cheap clothing, or believe in equality but still make the occasional racial or homophobic remark. Is this just extremely hypocritical or does it prove that I’m weak and selfish? I’m not really sure. But it sure as hell doesn’t mean I don’t believe and that I don’t have any values.
• I don’t think I miss the people at school as much as I should at this point of my college life. I realize I wasted my freshman year and there aren’t people that I lived with that I even want to keep in touch with when I’m on the same campus as them. I know I do a poor job of keeping in touch in general, even with something like Facebook, but there is little motivation to contact some people.
• I am not going to get a good internship. I should come to grips with it now. It’s depressing. Life is hard.
• One of my friends was a big health advocate and lived substance free with me freshman year, but after a year and a summer of excessive drinking and a ridiculous tolerance, he was diagnosed with liver trouble. He noticed it first when it hurt to breathe. Scary thoughts.
• As of this moment, I am not planning to blue tent. To those who don’t know what that means, I am not going to sleep outside for roughly five nights a week in order to watch a game that we have never won during my years at Duke. But I might still white tent.
• I have four flights in the next two weeks: London to Barcelona, Barcelona to Casablanca, Casablanca to Madrid, and Madrid to London. The dollar is at an all time low to the Euro, but luckily they don’t use those in Morocco. My hair is getting long and I will be getting a haircut there, ideas?
• Because flickr only allows you to display 200 photos at a time (those cunts), I deleted a couple and changed some things on my blog. There are some differences in the photos from previous posts, if you’re interested in checking out. I can’t believe how much time I wasted because I was conscious of this sort of thing.
• The library here has a decent foreign films collection, but I find it difficult to make the commitment to watch a movie, so I have just been ripping them and returning them the next day. Like father, like son.
• I’ve been running every other day or so during the weekdays to improve my stamina. I haven’t been able to go to the gym here because I need a bank account, so my endurance is better and my backhand is much improved (frisbee).
• Every song used in an iPod commercial.