Who Said Birthdays Are Fun?
I 'celebrated' my birthday a few days ago. I use the term celebrated loosely because it wasn't really a celebration, but just an average day (and a bad one, at that). Normally I'll start college at 11am on that particular day of the week (which allows me to sleep for an extra hour). So I dragged myself out of bed, and slowly started to get ready. My parents had already gone to work, and there was no card or note left by them. Of course I spent too long in the shower so I had to run to catch my bus, but (which doesn't always come at that time, but fortunately it did that day). At least it wasn't raining because that could've made it a whole lot worse. However, it was pretty warm and by the time I got to college it was as if I hadn't taken a shower at all.
When I got to my 11am English class I discovered only around 30 people there (there are 400 people registered to the class, of course you don't normally get more than 250). I listened to my MP3 player oblivious to the fact that people around me were leaving. I saw a group of people come in, sit, and leave 30 seconds later. More people followed suit. I waited for 3/4 minutes but when I saw no sign of the lecturer (who usually is early) I up and left, too. I should've probably stayed longer to see if the lecturer came, because I was severely puzzled as to how people knew that she was missing, having given no hint the previous day as to her future absence. A lecture was cancelled, so I should've been thrilled. But the fact that I'd had to get up at 8:30am to make an 11am lecture, when my next lecture was at 2 and I could've stayed in bed for another 3 hours didn't improve my mood.
I went to the library and read Pinter's 'The Caretaker', seeing as I'd have to read it for Monday, anyway. The play was somewhat confusing because I'd had no idea what it was about and it's the sort of play that needs to have ajoined commentary, particularly if you're reading it and not seeing it performed. I was supposed to read a little and stop. But I felt like getting it over and done with so 20 pages turned into 50 pages, which turned into 125. I finished it in about an hour and a half, which is pretty good because I'm quite a slow, meditative reader.
I borrowed the film 'Amadeus' from the library. I'd never borrowed a video before and it was really awkward what with having to get a form signed by several people and having to hand it to the security guard in order to get it out of the building. If I went back into the building I wouldn't have been able to get the video back out again because the security system would've gone off and I wouldn't have had the form to prove that I'd withdrawn it. So that was the end of my study for that day.
I saw none of my friends; none of them bothered to come in. The first words that I'd spoken had been 'thank you' to the bus driver when paying for my ticket, and my first sentence was when I was asking to borrow the video. I remained pretty much silent for the rest of the day. It's amazing how long you can go without speaking if you don't bump into people you know.
French grammar class was awful. I'm a slow learner; but our lessons involve our teacher writing the information on the board, us frantically copying it down and then immediately doing exercises (orally and on the spot). I just don't learn that fast. Needless to say I looked like a total idiot, which is frustrating because I'm a brighter-than-average girl.
History of Art is usually a class that I can rely on my friends to attend, but none of them showed up. So by the time I finished college at 6pm and trudged around in the darkness I was pretty upset.
Things looked up a little later that evening. I had a relatively nice dinner, and my parents had bought me a chocolate cake. However, my mother served my father a slice that was 'too big' (he's a bottomless garbage can, how can a piece of cake be too big for his stomach?) and pulled faces all the time about how awful the cake was. He always wants all eyes on himself. My present this year will be a new matress (talk about fun). I'm not complaining, I've gotten to a point where I have most of the things I want and practical gifts suit me more. My grandparents had brought me back a lovely little kangaroo teddy, which was nice because their presents are normally extremely tacky, and my parents got me some nougat and more shower gel (they got me the same one for Christmas and I'm hardly a tenth of the way through). They also gave me a little stuffed penguin, which I immediately recognised as the one free with Persil laundry tablets. Basically my Mum bought washing powder and gave me the free gift as a present; talk about tacky. Their presents are always pretty bad simply because there's absolutely no thought put into them. I'm getting a mattress this year; but for 5 years straight I got no gift because I didn't specifically name what I wanted. I remember one year getting a packet of highlighter pens and one of those brushes to scrub my back (which I never used). Finally, last year, sick of my pointing out that they never give me a birthday present, they shoved a few notes of cash in my face. I don't want cash, it's the most thoughtless birthday gift anyone can give. I know I'm tough to buy gifts for, but they don't even try and that's what upsets me more.
I watched the first hour of Amadeus. The video quality was awful and the video screen and sound cut out a few times. It wasn't bad, but I expected much, much more. The American accents are what really bugged me. I mean, how can a film like 'The Man in the Iron Mask' which isn't THAT bad get panned by the critics, and this film, with it's random accents win Best Picture at the Academy Awards? There's nothing wrong with American accents, but to hear them in a 'historical' film when the American accent wouldn't have historically existed makes little sense.
I'm absolutely exhausted now. I really hope that there isn't a limit on journal entries because if there is then this one is too long! Bonne nuit.
When I got to my 11am English class I discovered only around 30 people there (there are 400 people registered to the class, of course you don't normally get more than 250). I listened to my MP3 player oblivious to the fact that people around me were leaving. I saw a group of people come in, sit, and leave 30 seconds later. More people followed suit. I waited for 3/4 minutes but when I saw no sign of the lecturer (who usually is early) I up and left, too. I should've probably stayed longer to see if the lecturer came, because I was severely puzzled as to how people knew that she was missing, having given no hint the previous day as to her future absence. A lecture was cancelled, so I should've been thrilled. But the fact that I'd had to get up at 8:30am to make an 11am lecture, when my next lecture was at 2 and I could've stayed in bed for another 3 hours didn't improve my mood.
I went to the library and read Pinter's 'The Caretaker', seeing as I'd have to read it for Monday, anyway. The play was somewhat confusing because I'd had no idea what it was about and it's the sort of play that needs to have ajoined commentary, particularly if you're reading it and not seeing it performed. I was supposed to read a little and stop. But I felt like getting it over and done with so 20 pages turned into 50 pages, which turned into 125. I finished it in about an hour and a half, which is pretty good because I'm quite a slow, meditative reader.
I borrowed the film 'Amadeus' from the library. I'd never borrowed a video before and it was really awkward what with having to get a form signed by several people and having to hand it to the security guard in order to get it out of the building. If I went back into the building I wouldn't have been able to get the video back out again because the security system would've gone off and I wouldn't have had the form to prove that I'd withdrawn it. So that was the end of my study for that day.
I saw none of my friends; none of them bothered to come in. The first words that I'd spoken had been 'thank you' to the bus driver when paying for my ticket, and my first sentence was when I was asking to borrow the video. I remained pretty much silent for the rest of the day. It's amazing how long you can go without speaking if you don't bump into people you know.
French grammar class was awful. I'm a slow learner; but our lessons involve our teacher writing the information on the board, us frantically copying it down and then immediately doing exercises (orally and on the spot). I just don't learn that fast. Needless to say I looked like a total idiot, which is frustrating because I'm a brighter-than-average girl.
History of Art is usually a class that I can rely on my friends to attend, but none of them showed up. So by the time I finished college at 6pm and trudged around in the darkness I was pretty upset.
Things looked up a little later that evening. I had a relatively nice dinner, and my parents had bought me a chocolate cake. However, my mother served my father a slice that was 'too big' (he's a bottomless garbage can, how can a piece of cake be too big for his stomach?) and pulled faces all the time about how awful the cake was. He always wants all eyes on himself. My present this year will be a new matress (talk about fun). I'm not complaining, I've gotten to a point where I have most of the things I want and practical gifts suit me more. My grandparents had brought me back a lovely little kangaroo teddy, which was nice because their presents are normally extremely tacky, and my parents got me some nougat and more shower gel (they got me the same one for Christmas and I'm hardly a tenth of the way through). They also gave me a little stuffed penguin, which I immediately recognised as the one free with Persil laundry tablets. Basically my Mum bought washing powder and gave me the free gift as a present; talk about tacky. Their presents are always pretty bad simply because there's absolutely no thought put into them. I'm getting a mattress this year; but for 5 years straight I got no gift because I didn't specifically name what I wanted. I remember one year getting a packet of highlighter pens and one of those brushes to scrub my back (which I never used). Finally, last year, sick of my pointing out that they never give me a birthday present, they shoved a few notes of cash in my face. I don't want cash, it's the most thoughtless birthday gift anyone can give. I know I'm tough to buy gifts for, but they don't even try and that's what upsets me more.
I watched the first hour of Amadeus. The video quality was awful and the video screen and sound cut out a few times. It wasn't bad, but I expected much, much more. The American accents are what really bugged me. I mean, how can a film like 'The Man in the Iron Mask' which isn't THAT bad get panned by the critics, and this film, with it's random accents win Best Picture at the Academy Awards? There's nothing wrong with American accents, but to hear them in a 'historical' film when the American accent wouldn't have historically existed makes little sense.
I'm absolutely exhausted now. I really hope that there isn't a limit on journal entries because if there is then this one is too long! Bonne nuit.