This internet cafe turns into a gay bar after 7 pm
Hi! It's been more than half a year and some things have fundamentally changed in the small corner of the universe I tentatively call mine:
I've graduated from high school! It wasn't as teary an affair as predicted, possibly because we had been saying goodbye and then seeing each other at dershane or school related events periodically for about a month. It was a little sad to see alcohol-induced sobbing hugs reduced to pats on the back, but hey, there's always Homecoming.
I pretty much nailed the OSS *happy dance*. I'm obviously not in the top 3 but I'm 300-somethingth and that's quite good considering it's from among 1.5 million people (I'm talking to you, Grandma!). The only problem is I now have to pick a university. I've boiled it down to 2 choices but I have absolutely no idea beyond that. I'm visiting the schools to at least enjoy the illusion of being informed.
There is an excess of free time now that I don't have to study anymore and can enjoy myself without feeling like I've left my newborn baby in the dumpster. I was resolved to expand my horizons, watch artsy movies, read the classics, things like that. I have a copy of The Idiot sitting on my desk and that's as close as I've come to achieving this goal. What I did instead: I've watched TV while being disgusted with myself about how much I was doing it. This inculdes but is not limited to: a Psych marathon, random HIMYM and Bones episodes, season 4 of Doctor Who, a Samurai Champloo marathon, a 3-day Death Note marathon that left me incapacitated for a long time afterwards. I've also read some great books: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. I'm a little in love with this passage:
Part of my interest was scientific, zoological. I'd never seen a creature with so many freckles before. A Big Bang had occurred, originating at the bridge of her nose, and the force of this explosion had sent galaxies of freckles hurtling and drifting to every end of her curved, warm-blooded universe. There were clusters of freckles on her forearms and wrists, an entire Milky Way spreading across her forehead, even a few sputtering quasars flung into the wormholes of her ears.
I finished Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy during graduation week and spent the leftover time urging anyone who would listen to me to read it because it is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I want to go on and on about this, but I won't (yet). I also read The Picture of Dorian Grey in late May to relax and take my mind off things. Unfortunately I couldn't put it down so I lost quite few nights' sleep. It was worth every second though, it really opened my eyes in regards to a few things. Finally, movies you should see that pop into my head: Belle de Jour, Yumurta, Mononoke-hime, The Philadelphia Story, Wristcutters: A Love Story, The Banquet. Movies you should not see even though you might be inclined to because there's John Krasinski and George Clooney in it: Leatherheads
I'm reorganizing my computer and LJ account, cleaning out memories, communities, graphics etc. I feel clean. It's nice.
After searching up and down in Istanbul to find a not-apple-pie to no avail, I buckled down and learned how to bake one from scratch. I can bake! This is so weird that I had to say it again. Of course I'm not even an intermediate yet (things come out raw or overcooked, or the dough's shrunk), but I've baked many a pie, all with fillings that were not apple! I accidentally made an amazing pear pie and have spent all the time since chasing it's soft and pale crust and firm filling. I've also made a few muffins (some very special ones) mostly as random presents and kick-ass chocolate chip cookies that everyone except my mother loved although they might have been saying that because I practically shoved the cookies down their throats with the constant pestering and the waving about of the container.
I tried to trick a boy into liking me with a variety of edibles not unlike the witch in Hansel & Gretel :) It didn't work out of course, but that's fine and nothing is weird which is nice. (there's a mix in the works because apparently that's the way to cope)
I spent 4,5 days in Budapest with a close friend. I never knew vacations were actually fun. Budapest is a small city, compared to Istanbul at least, and we stubbornly walked everywhere (although we were unreasonably pleased when we learned how to navigate the public transportation). The Pest side especially is flat and seriously all the buildings are beautiful. I don't think I could ever be bored, living in a city like that. We didn't spend much time in Buda to keep my friend happy. While there we had desert heat and Monsoon rains, all not on the days CNN told us they would be. I tried every yoghurt flavor there is, I think, and decided that my favorite is apple. We only learned how to say please in Hungarian (kérem) but we were unable to find an occasion to use it, and resorted to English accompanied by wild gesturing and finally Turkish at the flea market. We drank soda for too-long-a-time before we found good old heavenly plain water and never parted from it again. We fell asleep at 8 pm due to exaustion every night and spent 2 hours in a restaurant because we couldn't ask for the bill. We were kind of pathetic, I guess, but it was ever so much fun! Have a Budapest sunset:
I have mixed feelings about this year. I hate it for obvious reasons but I also love it a little as well. I met people I never would've met otherwise and although everyone was stressed out all the time and I was constantly PMSing at one point, I was always half-wishing it wouldn't end.
Enough already about me, how about you?
Part of my interest was scientific, zoological. I'd never seen a creature with so many freckles before. A Big Bang had occurred, originating at the bridge of her nose, and the force of this explosion had sent galaxies of freckles hurtling and drifting to every end of her curved, warm-blooded universe. There were clusters of freckles on her forearms and wrists, an entire Milky Way spreading across her forehead, even a few sputtering quasars flung into the wormholes of her ears.
I finished Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy during graduation week and spent the leftover time urging anyone who would listen to me to read it because it is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I want to go on and on about this, but I won't (yet). I also read The Picture of Dorian Grey in late May to relax and take my mind off things. Unfortunately I couldn't put it down so I lost quite few nights' sleep. It was worth every second though, it really opened my eyes in regards to a few things. Finally, movies you should see that pop into my head: Belle de Jour, Yumurta, Mononoke-hime, The Philadelphia Story, Wristcutters: A Love Story, The Banquet. Movies you should not see even though you might be inclined to because there's John Krasinski and George Clooney in it: Leatherheads
I have mixed feelings about this year. I hate it for obvious reasons but I also love it a little as well. I met people I never would've met otherwise and although everyone was stressed out all the time and I was constantly PMSing at one point, I was always half-wishing it wouldn't end.
Enough already about me, how about you?