13 Months

I initially posted this on my facebook, and got quite a good response. A lot of people are moving out of the foyer now, or leaving Geneva, so I think they found it pretty entertaining - a good way to remember all the strange Swiss customs. Of course not everything I learned while working for the EAA or living in Geneva is included - it seems everyday I think of one or two more things to add to the list. But for now, here it is:

Things I Learned While Living in Geneva:

*in Switzerland, people kiss three times on the cheek, not twice. This can get confusing when visiting friends in other parts of Europe. This can also get annoying when you're meeting a group.

* Diet coke is called 'coca-light'

* Although it's not the best idea to cross the 'do not cross' line while on top of a mountain, you can get some pretty sweet shots if you take a little risk.

* The best deal in Switzerland - free water from the fountains located sporadically throughout the city. Its clean and oh so tasty.

* You can't see the stars in Switzerland... this actually just makes me happy I'm going home.

* it is impossible to get lost in Geneva. Even if its your first day, and you wander around for hours, you will wind up right outside your apartment thinking 'gee I'm so effing lost right now!'

* the negative sign on your account statement is on the RIGHT side, not the left. Don't think you're making money every time you withdraw, UBS doesn't like you that much.

* consider yourself lucky if you get to see Montreaux on a clear day

* don't call Steph a bitch or dirty whore while complementing her hair cut and while your door is only half open...her parents maybe standing in ear shot.

* standard Swiss city: river, castle, and mountain.

* the guy outside of Migros, who plays the accordion, is Hungarian, and Steph's friend. He also likes it when you buy him 1 franc pies.

* your colleague may work just behind you but you'll still find the majority of your communication mediated by skype, adium, facebook, and two sets of email

* je suis tres excite - does not mean what you think it does.

* about 90% of the parties and gatherings in Geneva are 'going away' parties

* Vegimite is disgusting - do not trust the Australian's that try and tell you differently

* If a colleague is having trouble with their computer, buy yourself time to Google an actual solution by telling them to 'just restart it'

* Always allot yourself about 30 minutes per week to deal with Emma's email issues (that one is for you Stephen)

* If you have a train to catch Saturday morning at 6 am, its really not a good idea to stay at Shakers until 5.

* You know its time to leave Usine(zoo) when either a) the floor gets so sticky you shoes litterally become stuck to the ground or b) you start spending most your time protecting Steph from severe douchebags.

* When playing 'guess the stereotype', be sure that members of certain ethnic groups that you are making inappropriate comments about are not sitting within ear shot

* When playing 'guess the stereotype' don't throw an entire round by beginning with 'well at least I know you don't have Louis'

* Never enter a hot chili eating contest with a tiny australian. you will lose.(also, don't cut hot chili up then wipe your eye - it will be the greatest pain you will ever experience in your life)

* If Jean ever invites you over for cakes, go.

* When stalking your favourite artist around a castle in Germany, get rid of the chocolate ball and have someone with you who can reliably decipher whether or not they are the musician you think they are, and also accurately determine which of the identical twins you are following

* Putting your feet up on the seat in front of you while on a train is 'not possible in France'* mayonaise tastes good on pretty much everything - blame Gilberto.

* never enter a debate about the difference between aluminum and aluminium

* the three most important questions in Geneva: who are you, what do you do, how long are you here for (give yourself extra points if you find someone who doesn't work / study in human rights or international development)

* Italians will make fun of you for saying 'lunch', but they'll do it in Italian and then serve you really good gnochi so really, who's complaining?

* 'boh' should officially become a part of everyone's vocabulary

* If an Italian says 'prego' to you, they are not asking if you're pregnant

* When in the alps, don't wear shorts - its really really cold up there

* Always keep the conversion rate in mind when paying in Pounds - otherwise you will come home broke all the while thinking 'wow that was a cheap trip'

* You cannot drink on the streets in Belfast

* If in Prague, DO NOT go see a black light show...unless you have consumed a significant amount of absinthe first, because really, that is the only way that shit makes sense

* Angelina Jolie may work for the UNHCR but hell if she is ever actually at that damned building.

* When in an eastern european country, with no money, maybe don't keep ordering mojitos - no matter how good they are

* Maps are unnecessary and completely useless in Venice

* 'server thingy' and 'the hosting guy' may not be technical terms but do make explaining web/email solutions much easier

* Just because the chocolate you bought was really expensive and good, it's not generally a smart idea to keep it in Steph's room for 6 months - eventually, it just tastes like Foyer

* Although it may be a good idea to give your credit card to Steph for safe keeping, it is not a good idea to give her your box of Oreos.

* No one may want to call the cat Honduras, but if you are persistent they will be forced to do just that

* Doesn't matter how important or well educated some diplomats are - everyone has a soft spot for "10 Things I Hate About You"

* The eye diagram at the photo booth is for aligning - it is not representative of where your eyes should be in the photo...

* If you make plans with an Italian and a mini-Brit, be sure to have cell phone on hand - if you don't meet them, you will never, ever, hear the end of it.

* Swiss trams, trains, and busses can never be late - don't bother running for one because even if you make it, are standing at the door pushing the button, if they're a hair off schedule then they're leaving you the fuck behind.

* When flying, sit on the left side of the plane to get a good view of alps

* There is not a 'resist' button on my watch - it says 'water resist' - this is good to know.

* Steph's method of saving people from oncoming traffic is to scream then jump out of the way...you'll kind of need to pay attention to her to realize that bus is headed right for you..

* If going out with Farhad know that you will never be able to adequately capture his 'dancing face' on camera. Committ that shit to memory - the same goes for 'crazy naked tattoo guy'

* If in Amsterdam, DO NOT EAT SUBWAY

* never watch Japanese horror films that have a high probability of turning you into a racist

* If you're competitive, never bowl with the Sweedes. They'll kick your ass and be terribly adorable doing so.

* Germans like to mosh to Jimmy Eat World...during slow songs..

* Limiting the HIV team to one technical question a day will greatly improve your productivity / facebook time

* You will always win in the 'great skype hang up race' against your communications supervisor provided you never tell them that they are in competition with you.

* If in a staff meeting, maybe don't agree to do something when you haven't been paying attention. Also, if you start laughing hysterically when you catch the tail of a sentence ('men who have sex with men and religious leaders') it will be strikingly apparent to the rest of the staff that you were not paying attention.
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DANA: and this is the resist button
GILBERTO: thats not the 'resist' button, your watch says 'water resit'

DANA:if i pushed you in the river could i still come to your funeral
STEPH: yes
DANA: but i killed you
STEPH: but i liked you up until then

DANA: i'm an amm'rican, i'm gonna go get my ball

GILBERTO: steph, quick hide, they're coming[steph proceeds to run and hide behind a 2inch pole while covering her face with a bag of lettuce]

"Does anyone have a plain envelope?"
"Do you mean like, an envelope for a plane?"

GILBERTO :Dana, your teeth are big and green /Dana, you have a big panchene
DANA: What is a panchene?
GILBERTO: I don't know. it just rhymed

ME: I just broke the cookie jar
STEPH: is that code for something?
ME: its code for 'Gilberto is a douchebag'

HAROLD: "i don't like italians, they steal passports"

STEPH: I remember it like it was yesterday
ME: It was four hours ago

GILBERTO: lots of french "tu ecoutes .."
ME: tu ecoutes not you!

JUSTIN: I'm a cylon and I've been programmed for make-outs

GILBERTO / ME: Can you Walter that for me?

ME: What are penguin's anyways? Birds?
STEPH: Dinosaurs?on msn

STEPH: haha ok BYE DAD we're going shopping. what do you want from swiss land? CHOCKI?STEPH: HAHAHA you're not my dad

KATHERINE: Is your mom coming to the EAA
DANA: Yeah I hope so
KATHERINE: Oh we'll have to tell her about all the wild and crazy things you do here
DANA: oh yeah, like, oooh mom today I created some php templates
KATHERINE: naked

(talking to Steph while inputting 100 emails individually into a listserv)
Steph: ooh thats going quickly
Dana: thank god for keyboard short cuts
Dana: im all apple c, apple tab, delete, double click, apple v, enter, apple tab, arrow down - repeat
Dana: im making that a facebook quote
Steph: haha
Dana: im done
Dana: oh my god
Dana: i added them to the wrong listserv
Steph: ooooh no!
Steph: apple tab, delete

JUSTIN / DANA: "oooh, that's racey"

VICTORIA: "Do you have a catch phrase?"

: "You're acting like a vajayjay cleaner, Justin"

DANA: "aw, she's so cute with her accent. I want a cute accent"
EMMA: "you're north american, darling, there's no chance."

STEPH: cant you like, just stay - i will hide you in my room. no one will know - and then i will import vic, and hide her too, and then you will have a friend and then you can open an internet business (not porn!) from my room

FRANCESCA: *something in Italian*
DANA: awww, that sounds almost romantic
FRANCESCA: I called you a floating piece of shit
DANA: that is less romantic

MOM (to my friends at dinner): I have two really girly daughters
ME: uhhh. thanks mom
MOM - blank stare
MOM: I have two really girly daughters

DAD: she thought she was catgirl, no uh, batwoman, no batcat

EMMA (enters empty office): Did the rapture happen and we got left behind?

(I walk into Emma and Thabo's office while Linda is writing me a card)
LINDA: Dana, leave!
DANA: What? Why?
LINDA: Leave!
DANA: why?!
LINDA: you used to be so respectful
DANA: you trained me well Linda.

(oh phone with mom)
MOM: what are you doing?
DANA: I'm watching the couple across the street from me, I can see into their living room
MOM: Oh..you ever see them...you know?
DANA: you know, what?
MOM: you know..
DANA: oh once the guy was doing push ups and I thought he was doing something else, but it was just push ups
MOM: thats dirty.

STEPH: we're drunk
JUSTIN: no, that's just you s-bu

JUSTIN: Here's the set up, you're in a meadow, Justice is playing, Tegan and Sara are there and they are holding your hands and they are both being nice to you

NICOLE (in Gilberto's card): Please give me the fridge, Steve will only fill it with Denner products

KATHERINE (11:45 - everyday): When are we lunching?

KATHERINE: oh that's neat, the wallet has your name on it
DANA: no it says Hurley, its a brand
KATHERINE: No I know, but its *like* your name, so you see what she's done here?

(while looking for snacks to bring on the train I see steph in the sauce aisle)
DANA: so Steph, what you thinking, going to take some curry sauce and eat from the jar on the train?
STEPH: oh yeah, that would be crazy good.

Take me anywhere

As I mentioned in my previous post, mid April through to the beginning of May saw Gilberto, Steph and I doing a lot of traveling. And, following our trip to Ireland, we found ourselves soon preparing for another excursion - this time to Belgium (because when you live in land of chocolate, its always a good idea to visit the competitors).

Originally, my easyjet ticket didn't confirm/book, so we spent quite a bit of time assuming I was on the same flight as Steph and Gil. However, we discovered a few months before that, I had not actually received any confirmation. We thought that this meant I would miss the trip, but after quick scan of cheap airlines I was able to find a flight leaving about ten minutes after their flight and at relatively the same price. So while we left at approximately the same time, we were on different flights there and back (Steph and Gilberto came back on Monday, while I came back on Sunday). Anyways the the three of us went to the airport together early that morning and met up again 2 hours later in Belgium.

Now, the people in Belgium were much nicer than the people in Ireland...North Ireland, I should specify. For example, we took the train from the airport to downtown Brussels and when the ticket collector came he told us that we were, mistakenly, sitting in first class. When we made a move to switch seats he told us not to worry, he was running the whole show and it was fine by him. Hell. Thats even nicer than the people in Switzerland. And France. And well..most people who work on trains are jerks out right.

Anyways upon arrival into downtown Brussels we wandered for a bit - stopped inside a gift shop - then got waffles. Because seriously, how can you go to Belgium and not get waffles? Or french fries (turns out they invented them). We were mostly hanging around that morning in the city square waiting for Ine. A friend of ours (who Gilberto had met initially) who had lived at the foyer until January. As we stood around the square we watched a bunch of Thai performing artist (? -- assumption) bring materials and such into wherever they would be performing, we marveled at the architecture, and we picked up a gift for Ine who was letting us stay at her brother and sister's student house for the night. And then suddenly, admist all this gazing, I looked over to my left to see Ine running towards us - the trip could begin!

Ine gave us a quick tour of Brussels, including bringing us to mannequinpis (or whatever that guy peeing is called). He was dressed in army clothes (aparently he has over 300 costumes... and I can't help but wonder if they ever don't clothe him). The army get up was for some sort of festivities that were occurring that day. Some sort of veteran thing as all these old men with crazy mustaches were crowded within that little square. We gawked at the insane facial hair before moving to have hot chocolate in this art-nouveau type building where enjoyed a pretty great view of the city. Following our hot chocolate and dime tour of Belgium we hopped a train and headed for Gent - a cute little University town where Ine had arranged for us to stay (in her brother and sister's apartment). Ine and Steph spent a couple of hours wandering Gent while Gilberto and I checked out a castle. We were given the audio tour, which was actually a big ol remote thing with a screen showing some movie that they had made to explain the history of the castle. Unfortunately it was too long, kind of boring, and really distracting - so I turned it off after a couple of chapters and Gilberto and I wandered through the rooms trying to appreciate its history despite our ignorance.

Now I can't remember if it was in Gent or Belgium, but at some point while wandering streets with Ine on our way to cute little pub, we realized that street music performances were in full force - more festivities, imagine! Anyways, our favourite, was by far, or at least my favourite by far, was a pretty large band with hippy arty super cool looking peoples playing trumpets and large marching band type instruments. They were a lot of fun, jumping up and down and dancing with the crowd that had gathered - including a little boy who kept wandering near them.

That night Gilberto and Ine went to a party while Steph and I hung back. We hadn't brought bed sheets or sleeping bags and thus spent most of the night trying to figure out what to use to keep ourselves warm as there were not sheets - including covering ourselves with pillows. Needless to say it was a cold night - but one that brought the next morning and a day trip to Bruges - a gorgeous, small but touristy town in Belgium. We spent the day in Bruges doing a walking tour that Ine had printed off for us (not a tour with guides - just a suggested walk that she found on their tourism website). While there we also ate french fries - which apparently were invented in Belgium and are therefore some sort of...I duno, national snack. Apparently Tin Tin is also a Belgium creation. Imagine. All these great things from one little country. Gilberto and Steph took me back to Belgium, where they would spend the night and the next day, while I headed back to Geneva to work on Monday. I was certainly upset to leave so early as Belgium is a really cool country, and one that seems to be calling me to return. But until then, I have these great memories, and of course, a photo blog:

attack in black

I know I'm pretty far behind on the blogs (still have to comment on: Belgium, Justin and Vic's arrival, Paris, parent's visiting, soon Barcelona, etc etc) but I could not continue without commenting on this. Which almost half takes care of the parent blog. But...not really.

Anyways, when my parents came to visit, one night we went out to dinner with a group of friends and co-workers. At dinner I encouraged my mom to tell family stories (which I realized are funnier to us than to others who don't know the other strange members of our family with staring roles in these stories). One of the stories my mom told was about my "childhood" obsession with Batman (I put childhood in air quotes because I'm sure the new batman trailers make me want to pee my pants, and I'm pretty sure I have Prince's Batdance song downloaded on my itunes). She explained how I would wear my Adam West batman cape around the house (all the time I might add. Man I loved that fucking cape). Anyways, after dinner, Justin asked about the story because he had missed most of it. My dad started repeating the story, but as he was telling him that I thought I was batman he got a little flustered changing the gender and species - batgirl, catgirl, and eventually blurting out - batcat!

Well Justin and I ate it up, we loved it. We walked home discussing batcat and batcats various super powers. Moving from flying and scratching out people's eyes, to being a laser cat with bat wings and a scorpion knife. I spent two weeks telling Laura to draw me up as batcat "batcat is me dressed as batcat" I would tell her. Until eventually, until today, I woke up to the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Batcat. Me. As batcat.

I then decided that Laura would be my sidekick because it was predetermined by fate.

You see last year after watching a Family Guy skit with Mayor Adam West using a cat launcher against the pizza delivery man, then picking up the cats and ridiculing the cat Paul for having a ridiculous name, I nicknamed Laura - Paul. Because she's ridiculous. Like a cat named Paul.

Look at how amazing this is. I am batcat by virtue of my childhood obsession with Adam West's batman. Adam West who said Paul was a ridiculous name for a CAT. Therefore, Laura is now "Paul Sexy-fingers" my sidekick. She doesn't know it yet though. But I imagine her wearing mittens that have the fingers cut out, and having a cat face (not ears like me) and a utility belt to hand me my weapons (including my trusty scorpion knife) with her sexy hands. I smell a comic book deal. Then a movie. Staring Angelina Jolie as me, Scarlett Johanson as Laura, Tony Soprano as my dad, and Kitty from that 70's show as my mom. Adam West will have a cameo.

POST EDIT

Laura is now Paul Sexy-Fingers.

Now we just need a mission!

You look like I need a drink

I've fallen quite behind on the blog, apologies.

Last month, Gilberto, Steph and I began an what would be an onslaught of weekend trips. In four weeks, we would travel three times, leaving only one weekend free for rest. Otherwise, our work week would end with us packing and waking up incredibly early to catch a plane - or would end with us scrambling to get our shit together so that we could rush ourselves to the airport.

Our first excursion was to Belfast (Northern Ireland) and Dublin (Ireland), where we had two incredibly different experiences in each city.

Just before boarding the plane to Belfast on the Friday, I brought out a handy little bottle that Katherine had lent me. Both of us are deathly affraid of flying, so she had lent me her "Bach's Rescue Relief Spray". A small bottle containing a liquid that tastes vaguely of rubbing alcohol, that is supposed to calm you down should you be in a situation where you would need calming. Now you're supposed to take a couple of sprays, but Gilberto really wanted to spray it, and because of the amount I flinched, I got about 9 sprays. I'm not sure if it worked though. We were sat at the very back of the plane, one of the most fearful places for me - I mean you can see the plane tip up and down and move and hear all the noises - no no, I much prefer the middle. So it seemed that my fear during this flight was not entirely appeased by this special spray. Though I'm sure it was brought down a notch. And I think Gil could have used some - he seemed really closterphobic in the back, so there was him freaking out and me freaking out - well...hey..wait..why didn't Steph freak out?? Oh yeah. she was asleep. sheesh.

Anyhow, moving on, I suppose our arrival into Belfast should have served as an indicator for how the rest of the day was going to go. We sat at the back of the plane, surrounded by big Irish guys missing teeth and speaking funny. Actually, the entire flight staff spoke funny. In fact, everyone in Ireland speaks funny, they kind of remind of the Sweedish chef from the muppets with the mumbles and the slurring and the awkward speech that makes no sense. Anyways just after we landed, the three of us were speaking and kind of rustling in our seats, maybe even talking to those giant Irish guys about it being our first time there, I don't know what the context of the conversation was but I said 'Oh well, my last name is Herlihey, maybe I'll be okay' to which I received an angry grunt of a reply 'this is the North'. I guess it should be noted that the Herlihey's come from County Cork, which is in Ireland, and pretty far south. I suppose the last name is more well known there and I quickly learned not dare speak it while in Belfast unless I wanted my teeth knocked in.

The airport, in general, proved to be difficult. After the incident with the rude plane passengers, we had to wait for Gilberto to be questioned the hell out of at customs because he didn't have his work permit - I guess a valid passport and an address as to where you're staying isn't enough. These people wanted to see every document we could possibly provide - because - heaven forbid, we fell in love with their runt of a city and wanted to stay there longer as squaters. And again, just as we were about to leave the airport we decided to check out car rentals, only to get the run around until they finally told us that they don't rent to kids under 24. Belfast was pulling out all the stops, and we'd only been inside the airport.

Needless to say, Belfast, in general, is a sore spot. So lets try to get through this as fast as we can so that the memories of that godforsaken town are rehashed as quickly as possible and then subsequently memories of Belfast are just as quickly repressed.

Point form people, point form:

• We spent nearly two hours walking to get to the Titanic dock (the only thing worth seeing in Beflast) to wind up at a garbage dump. I got pissed, I got blisters, I got us a ride - from the only nice guy in all of Northern Ireland.
• It is illegal to drink outside in Belfast. I know right. Of all places in Europe where it is illegal to drink outside, its fucking Belfast, N. Ireland. And the people aren't exactly kind to tell you so.
• Apparently people in Belfast can read your mind, you can walk up to a bouncer to ask a question and be told 'no' before you even open your mouth.
• According to one drunk N. Irish chick, I'm 'hot as fuck'
• Belfast lacks its own culture...only reason I can see why there are so freaking many North American chains there... including Tim Horton's.
• Guinness tasted like crap in Belfast...though that could have just been me trying to get used to it
• It rained, and I wore Vans, and didn't bring extra socks, I was hobbling along the streets by the end of the day
• Kids in Belfast are fucking strange. Like, they don't look like scene kids, they look like anime characters and hang out at Burger King. They wear moon boots and have tokyo hotel hair. During the day they hang out near the water. They are strange. STRANGE I tell you! STRANGE (i don't understand them young'ns...sheesh I'm getting old)
  

Anyways, we spent about a day in Belfast before getting the heck out of there and heading south to Ireland to visit Dublin.

Unfortunately we didn't have much time in Dublin, but we did have enough time to check out a series of pubs in Templebar, a popular hot spot in Dublin, renowned for its authentic pubs and bars. The streets are literally lined with them. We visited three pubs while there. The first pub boasted a live band that played traditional Irish folk music (complete with fiddles). The place was crowded with people young and old, everyone yelling over each other, enjoying the music, and just having a great time in general. The band finished one set and we finished our pints of Guinness (or rather I shared Steph and Gilberto's pints) and we moved on. The second bar was more traditional, but also packed. As we walked around and settled we noticed that in the streets and bars there a lot of groups of young women dressed completely ridiculously. I think when we finally saw one group walking around with a blow up penis we clued in that these various groups were bachelorette parties that seemed to take over all of temple bar. The second bar played modern music, and some how we were sound enough of mind to remember the title of one song (which we asked a fellow patron for) to download when we returned to Geneva. We didn't stay at the second bar very long, but instead moved on to a third pub, which had a guy playing guitar in the corner - 90's classics - to a group of incredibly rowdy and drunk Irish peoples. And Scottish. And American. And well, he went through the list a few times - lets just say the group was diverse.

Gilberto was quick to make friends with the guitar player, who had the crowd jumping and singing and dancing the entire time. It was a great atmosphere and certainly proved to us quickly that not all of Ireland is full of bitter assholes (just Belfast) - but rather, Ireland is a place where you can have a good time with some very awesome people. Once the guitar player finished his set, and after I practically forced Gilberto and Steph out of the basement club they found (we had to get up early and I apparently took on the 'parent' role for this trip) we left and headed back to the hostel - but not without stopping to get some ice cream and have a completely incomprehensible conversation with an Irish couple (incomprehensible because of their accents....and alcohol intake). Everytime the girl would talk, Steph and I would look at each other and laugh - we seriously had no clue what she was saying. Slurred Irish accents - certainly the best thing you'll ever hear out of someone's mouth.

The next day, due to swollen feet / blisters (oh gee, that doesn't happen ever *cough cough Paris circa 2007*) I decided to forgo Steph and Gilberto's walk around Dublin and instead took a city tour bus. It was cold on top of the double decker, but totally worth it as I got to see most of Dublin and learn about its history. It turns out Dublin is a place with a lot of history outside the bars and Guinness brewery (which we unfortunately did not get to see). I later navigated my way (aka asked the bus driver) back to the main bus station to meet Gilberto and Steph, where we boarded a bus back to friggin' Belfast where we quickly hopped a plane and got the fuck out there! But not without eating at a trusty Subway first...I didn't get sick though, and I maintain it was because of my drug intake (tylenol and rescue relief spray).

We returned home, tired, sober, and me with a new pair of Guinness socks and a bag full of bandaids and blister care.

Moral of the story: don't wear Vans while traveling the rainy UK.

Photos:

Me terrified on the plane, because Gilberto was using electronic devices when they specifically told him not to!

Steph and I wandering the streets of Belfast. I think we are desperately looking for a place to eat / a bar - but when Steph went up to one she was told 'no' before we even asked the question. Then they said they weren't going let us in because Gilberto was drinking a beer in the street, which was illegal. Then they were rude. Then we left.

Gilberto unknowingly breaking the law

Tim Hortons - IN EUROPE - freaking expensive though!

The horror! The horror!

The EasyJet in flight magazine suggested we went to this small restaurant in Belfast. They didn't tell us how rude they would be when we decided to order a side of Soda Bread.

After spending quite a bit of time walking down a derelict street in Belfast, I finally got pissed and decided to hitch hike my way out of there. We were supposed to be seeing the titanic dock, but after an hour of walking (with blisters) all we had seen is abandoned ship yards and garbage dumps. Finally George, the nicest man in Northen Ireland - who runs/owns a small tour bus and who runs/owns a b&b - came by and drove us to the Titanic dock, and then back to the city - where we went straight to the pub to have some Guinness - see below.

Apparently this fish thing is a tourist attraction in Belfast. That and creepy anime character scene kids.

One of our last stops in Belfast - a church.

Gilberto, Steph, and a bunch of drunks from Scottland. Belting out the 90's classics!

The guitar guy - doing his thing.

Another Weekend in the City

• I downloaded the new Cut Copy album, "In Ghost Colours" and pretty much fell in love with it as soon as I heard it. Its fun and perfect for Spring / Summer. The song currently on my blog "Far Away" is my favourite off the album, by far. I keep dancing to it alone in my room, secretly wishing Caroline was with me so that we could dance together and call out names of people we know / watch at Absinthe and dance like them. Or I dance to it at my desk at work when I'm sure no one is looking. Although, once, Francesca called me out and caught me dancing at my desk. I tried to deny it, but she was certain I was doing it. I can't help it I guess.
  
  
• I got my ear pierced (my helix) on Saturday. I was determined to do it a month ago, but got a bit worried about karma. Apparently I've become a huge paranoia nut in the past few months. Anyways, Jean, Nadia and Emma finally, and collectively, convinced me to get it done during our staff pic nic. And we made plans to do it. And then Saturday came and I did it - and Jean paid for my ring as a birthday present - which was awesome of her and much appreciated by me (even though I spent most of the time feeling guilty and trying to convince her not to do it). It bled a lot - like a lot more than usual. Apparently if a piercing there bleeds it only releases one big drop of blood. If it bleeds two - then thats pretty unusual. The piercer said I had 10. And then more when I cleaned it at home. I had blood on my shirt. This freaked out Bec to hear, but I was pretty nonchalant about it - just wanted to make sure that it wouldn't fuck up the healing process. Apparently they hit a tiny vein and once the bleeding stopped I should be fine so long as I kept up the normal cleaning regimen. My mom was somewhat pissed at me when I told her. But in this strange 'I don't actually give a fuck' way. She got a new stint put in and I was asking her if she was ok - like profusely (see, paranoia) - and she was like 'yeah yeah I'm fine I'm going to the mall and dropping off Frankie at the bus stop and maybe I'll go get my ear pierced'. Then she started laughing hysterically at the idea of her coming to Europe with her ears all pierced up. I didn't quite get the joke. In fact I think its pretty suiting. MOM GET YOUR EAR PIERCED, NO NO, MOM GET YOUR LIP PIERCED - I KNOW YOU ARE READING THIS....HI MOM! Anyways then my mom tried to convince me that I was going to have a hard time finding a job because I keep doing weird things. I reassured her though that I'm actually pretty tame and that the jobs I'm going for are going to want people more nuts than me. Then I told her that she should just take solace in the fact that I'm her weird and strange kid who's really creative and out of the box - you know the one who had imaginary friends and watched Batman all the time, and who shaved half her head and pierced her ears and wears stupid sunglasses and ugly sneakers. To which she said 'ok I'm going now, talk to you later, oh strange and creative one'. Its all funny and cute, because I'm pretty tame and my piercing are incredibly pedestrian. But, nonetheless, despite it all, I'm happy with the piercing because now the side of my head that is shaved has a piercing. (in the photo, top, my new piercing, the bottom photo is my old piercing)
  
  
• Speaking of sunglasses, I've started a week long project of cleaning my room. I say week long because I have a ton of laundry I have to do which I can either get done at 1 in the morning or 6 in the morning - depending on if I want to sleep in or if I want to stay up late (hoorah). Anyways I noticed that my two favourite pairs of sunglasses are broken. I took a picture of me wearing them one last time before trashing them (actually I'm keeping the white ones with the hope I can get them fixed) but I'm in serious mourning over the black aviators. They were pretty rad.
  
  
• We have a holiday Thursday, which is exciting. I don't know what I'm going to do. I go to Paris the next day so maybe just pack and clean and go in the sun, provided the sun is out.
  
  
• Friday we had a staff cleaning day. This meant no computers - except to play music. This meant getting in trouble if you were doing work. This also meant enjoying the day outside for a bit, having a pic nic, complete with catered sandwiches, cake, and a pic nic blanket. Pretty much the best day of work ever. Pretty much should happen all the time.
  
  
• Friday night we went to Electro night at Usine. Originally we were going to go to reggae (which happens to be my moms new favourite past time) but, although I had fun at the last reggae night, I was aching to go to electro (nerd - i like robot music, or just robots). Anyways we didn't stay long, and called it in early and sober. Which was nice, but all our traveling is certainly catching up to us. We can't hack normal weekends. Anyways while I was supposed to be getting ready to go to Usine, or while I was supposed to be cleaning my room - one of the two I'm sure, I got distracted by the neighbours across the street. There is this couple in the apartments opposite me, who are kind of boring. My window looks into their living ("and I spend the afternoon on top of you") The guy is always in grey boxer briefs, his girlfriend is always in a t shirt and pants, and they are usually smoking on the balcony. They have a big gong in their living room and red couches. But they never hit the gong. Sometimes they watch tv or sleep on the couches. Once the guy was doing push ups and I thought he was 'doing' something else. Anyways in comparison to the Asian guy across the street who usually takes photos of himself while on the internet, and who spent 10 minutes yesterday flailing his arms back and forth (exercise or something I'm sure) and who was in a tux getting ready for some big even earlier in the week - in comparison, this couple is pretty boring. But this couple is in full view and everyone can see them. Neha lives on the fifth floor and has an excellent view into their window - so she knows what a bore they are but also how accessible they are. So anyways, Friday while I was supposed to be doing something that didn't involve me being at my window, I looked over and noticed that the guy was doing some strange jerking dance movements in front of the tv while the girlfriend or wife or whoever sat on the couch and idly watched him. I was mildly intrigued, I mean, who just sits there while their loved one has a seizure in their fucking underwear? Their blinds were half closed and so I had to reposition myself and tilt my head to get a better look - when I noticed two white controllers in the guys hands and that he wasn't dancing, he was punching. So it turns out, the boring couple got a Wii. And they like to play in their underwear. Life by the window just got a bit more interesting.
  
  
• Saturday and Sunday were gorgeous - in the 20s. We walked around quite a bit (the EAA girls and Steph), got gelato and such. Steph and I pretty much spent most of Sunday in our rooms, trying to enjoy the weekend and such, but did venture out before it got dark to get more gelato at our favourite place- which had a 15 minute line up...totally worth it though. Mango gelato people, best stuff out there, ever!
  
  
• We wound up at some guys apartment Friday night before going out - we didn't stay long, but were incredibly entertained while there. Lets just say mannequins, wigs, fur coats, and political/fashion debate were all in full force. Thats all I have to say about that.
  
  
• I finally gave a listen to An Horse - very good. Highly suggested to you that you check out 'company'....whoever YOU are.
  
  
• Steph's fiance and sister are coming tomorrow. I'm on the look out for friends to hang out with me and watch Hip Hop Love Story with me. I feel like if Caro or Zach were here, that this would be the point in which one of us said "a wittle wronwry'.
  
  
• I'm still dancing to Cut Copy...alone...in my room... because I'm that cool. "and you can be a love to me, but i was far awaaaay - do do do dodo do dodo do"
  

up the cuts

A few weeks ago, Gilberto and I went to Zurich for web training. Our organization's soon to be new website was developed by a company in Zurich and the day was to be spent learning the ins and outs of the content management system they had set up.

Firstly, I think it is highly important to mention how much of a complete and utter nerd I am. I was ecstatic about working on the new website. Partly because I am sick and tired and frustrated with our current system, which is beyond out of date, beyond tedious, and beyond slow. And partly because I knew the CMS they were using - generally - and really wanted to see all it could do. I was impressed by it to say the least; everything is integrated and works wonderfully (with the exception of a few bugs and plugins to be complete). For a webmaster, it certainly makes my job easier to be using such a powerful CMS. Anyways, enough computer crap.

As mentioned, Gilberto and I spent the day in Zurich for training. However, since we have the Voie 7, once training finished, we couldn't go home for about 2 and a half hours - at least not without spending 40 francs, that is. We had somewhat decided that we should spend that time getting my hair cut in the city as there was a really cool salon that had opened the last time we were in Zurich. We wandered around for a bit, finally deciding (or finally being convinced by Gilberto's enthusiasm) that I was going to go through with some crazy new age mullet that was Tegan Quin (see twin on left) meets Gilberto Lontro hair design.

Upon entering the amazingly cool salon (large Zebra print arm chairs, all I'm gonna say) we were greeted by an uber cool hairdresser - who spoke a lot more German than she spoke English. We told her I wanted my hair cut, she said ok. We told her we wanted to explain it first. She asked if we wanted to see the book - and considering how we wanted it done, we immediately refused and launched into an explanation. It went like this:

DANA: uh, ok, this side (pointing to side of my head) - to be short, like this (pointing to Gilberto's head). And the bangs (pointing to bangs) the same - long, like this
HD: (agreement)
GILBERTO: This side (pointing to other side) long, with this piece (holding piece of my hair that frames my face) really long and this one (other piece on other side) long too but shorter than this one. One should be long and one should be short
DANA: the back should be really long. keep the back really long.
GILBERTO: On this side, short near the ear, but then it comes back long. so it goes up short, then comes back down long.
DANA: The back needs to be long.
GILBERTO: the top short
DANA: but the bangs long
GILBERTO: and the back, at the top, really short
DANA: But the back should be long. just short on top, but long at the back.

After a few more moments of us grabbing at pieces of my hair and explaining them, all while our hairdresser looking at us somewhat dumbfounded the entire time, she agreed and led me to the back to wash my hair. I was nervous a bit at first when she took out the razor blade and made her first swipe - somewhat laughing at me. Gilberto was loving it and seemed incredibly excited by the prospect of me having this ridiculous hair style. It was strange being nervous by the hair cut as I've never been upset or worried about cutting my hair before. So that was a new experience.

Now, I suppose Gilberto and I weren't all that clear with our instructions. Each time she went to cut a piece of hair she asked, or clarified what I wanted. 'this side, short, like him?' - I would reply yes. However, it eventually got to the point when she would ask and I would be like 'uh yeah ok' and she would turn to Gilberto and ask him. He would say yes or explain what he thought should be done, and away she would go hacking at my hair while I just sat in the chair. I think she stopped asking me, and would just turn to Gilberto like he was my personal stylist or boyfriend or owner to make sure he liked what she was doing to my head. At one point, while working on my side piece, she told me she was going to make my hair taller. Language barriers are kind of fun sometimes. I had no clue what she meant by that - making my hair taller - it could have meant shorter or thinner or she could have decided to give me a mohawk - but she was so certain that she had gotten the word the correct that I didn't have the heart to tell her that I had no idea what making my hair taller meant. So I said 'yeah ok, great'. I think she just thinned the piece out.

At the end of it, I was pretty estactic. I finally had the mullet I always wanted. And at the end of it, Gilberto was equally excited. I finally had the mullet he always wanted. Actually Gilberto was excited throughout the whole thing and documented the hair cut on his iphone. Cue photo blog.

keep the car running

point form updates:

• I'm learning how to configure Wordpress so that I can use it as a CMS. I'm making small strides, but proving myself to be a pretty huge nerd by how excited I get when I figure certain things out. There are a lot of notes left for me to read, but I'm enjoying how dumbed down they are and how well I'm getting it. I think its coming down to figuring out the best plugins for what I want it to do. If I get desperate enough, maybe I'll brush up a bit more on my php and write my own - but thats doubtful.
  
  
• Steph and I have become addicted to Battlestar Galactica - but to ensure we don't embarrass ourselves when talking about it in public, we tell people we're watching "Hip Hop Love Story". Our neighbour Alex was in the hallway while Steph, Bec and I were discussing the show, and we apologized in advance if the noise from us watching the show was too loud. He asked what we were going to watch, we told him the fake name and mentioned that if he hears explosions its because they use a lot of pyrotechnics during the hip hop dance offs. I don't think he understood what the hell we were going on about.
  
  
• This is what people from Belfast sound like: http://youtube.com/watch?v=O7CdEFXGK_w
  and more accurately (I actually heard someone say 'she's up the duff' while I was in Belfast):
  http://youtube.com/watch?v=u54_V7PMgvo
  
  
• Laura and I have been in discussion about making a real go at our freelance when I get back. I'm hoping it happens
  
  
• My parents are visiting in May!
  

• Alex is visiting a week after them!
  
  
• I'm really hoping there isn't a thunderstorm when I fly out of Geneva (to Brussels) on Saturday.
  
  
• If you use firefox, download the PicLens plugin. Its pretty terrific and a lot of fun. If you don't use firefox, then get on the trolley! You can use PicLens for other browsers, but seriously, why would you EVER use another browser? Anyways, go here: www.piclens.com to get it.
  
  
• I don't know what I was listening to before I started listening to the Kills, but I'm addicted. For this week, at least.
  
  
• I desperately want to get tickets to Paleo, but I think they sold out in a day. I can't believe Justice would be so close, yet so far. ugh.
  
  
• My cd drive is broken. I can't burn cds or watch dvds. This is balls and needs to be fixed asap. I'm tempted to take my macbook apart myself and re-align the hardware - pretty sure its just a little jangled. But I'm scared of ruining it.
  
  
• I downloaded adium to use instead of MSN. It's pretty good. There are features I like, like have all chats within one window. and the design. And the use of growl.
  
  
• My mom is in the Caymen Islands and likes to call me to tell me that she is in Paradise. Its cute.
  
  
• I need to figure out the best way to clean my MacBook - if you have suggestions, let me know.
  
  
• I'm going to Ikea today for cheap food and shoe shopping.
  
  
• This is a really cool video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=pVYp2sgA9M0
  
  
• I went to an IT meeting this week that lasted a pretty long time. It was mostly about budget. I wasn't 'excited' by the meeting per se, but I think I got more out of it than I did last time I went. I'm starting to kind of understand how these things work. But if it was up to me, I'd just spend all my time playing on the computer trying to make things. I like doing that, I wish I was a bit more capable, but I'm willing to learn, or continue learning. I have fun making things on the computer. I think I just like to create. and shiny things.
  
  
• Linda gave us all condoms from her trip to New York. I wonder if its a hint that maybe Gilberto and I's joke about being in a inter-office relationship has gone too far
  
  
• I've been getting a strange amount of anxiety recently. I think its related to flying.
  
  
• It's raining right now, but its been gorgeous. Flowers are out, trees in bloom, all that lovely spring stuff.
  
  
• My ipod headphones that I bought off ebay broke within two weeks. I guess its suiting seeing as how I spent like 2 bucks on them, but frustrating because I don't have any headphones. Luckily I gave the dude a bad score before they were even shipped because he wouldn't cancel an accidental purchase I made. I told him I would retract my comment - but at this point, I'm pretty sure he doesn't want me to replace 'poor communication with customer' with 'sold me a shitty product - LIAR!'.