August 21, 2004
today has been a wonderful, american saturday. despite the fact that i was up until 2am watching the olympics and reading instyle magazine, mom & dad woke me up eeearly, and we met up with our good friends uncle ken & aunt gina at "omelettes 'n more" downtown, had a healthy breakfast, walked to the farmer's market, bought michigan-grown tomatoes, squash, onions, and a bunch of zinnias, and looked at the new waterfall our friends built in their garden. then we came home, mom & dad took their daily nap, i watched jerry maguire ("you had me at hello"!!!), and then finally checked email. now we're just enjoying the quiet neighborhood, warm weather, and company. it's so nice being home. :)
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August 13, 2004
sofia coppola (who i have mixed feelings about after "lost in translation") just announced that she will direct a movie based off of one of my favorite books of all time-- antonia fraser's "marie-antoinette: the journey." it's a really great book-- i would recommend it to everyone! i'm sure the movie will be excellent, given coppola's aesthetic style and attention to detail. not sure if kirsten dunst is perfect for the role, but who am i to judge? either way, marie-antoinette is a fascinating character in european history, and the book truly teaches about the power of communication, position, and (yikes!) mob rule.
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hi friends! i'm off to traverse city on lake michigan and boyne city on lake charlevoix this morning-- mom and dad decided to go yesterday. i'm really excited about going up to northern michigan! i hope that all of you have wonderful weekends!
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August 11, 2004
it's that glorious season again-- back-to-school time, as target and payless shoes reminds us every time we turn on the tv. ahh, kids tearing through meijers snatching up folders, new pencils, glue sticks, and five-star notebooks. football and marching band practice beginning at the high schools. college students plotting how to fit the futon and shoe collection in the back of the ford windstar (and, of course, getting ready to learn lots and lots and have fun with friends too).
in the spirit of generosity and charity, i'd like to take the chance to help out some of my younger friends who are now preparing to attend their first year of college. after all, two years of van-trips down to bloomington and a year abroad have taught me just a little bit about how painful it can be to lug a tv, vcr, computer, dorm-size refrigerator, and two seasonal wardrobes up three flights of stairs in unairconditioned indiana weather... may i humbly present:
la petite princesse's guide to packing for freshman year
#1. let's start with the basics: your college wardrobe should be comfortable, classy, and project the image that you'd like your 30,000 new friends to recognize. although redundant, "dress to impress" is a good mantra to live by, and one that everyone should consider before talking to a professor in a scooby-doo night shirt, martini-print pajama pants, or fuzzy slippers.
#2. speaking of clothing, those high school shirts? unless you're planning on wearing them with irony, consider leaving the majority at home (whereupon reentry you can rip your new university-themed shirt off and snuggle back into the happy, safe, blissful world known as "midland high school" everytime you come back). what i mean by this is, once you get to your new place, keep springing forward instead of looking back. it will help you make friends.
#3. whatever you think you need, you need only half of it (from c.diddy)
#4. duct tape, trust me. or my sister, rather, who thinks it's very important. :)
#5. batteries for your cd player. they're expensive to buy, so you'd be better off getting ma & pa to get them for you. (mom says the best deal is at sam's club).
#6. around the residence halls, quarters are as rare and sacred as evian in a desert. seriously, $1.75 for a load of wash and $1.50 for a wimpy dry spin will eat up your cash supply very quickly. and don't forget to separate darks, lights and delicates (girls only, i assume), so you can expect to go through lots and lots of change in a few weeks.
#7. speaking of laundry, if you do know how to do it, you're in store for an excellent potential entrepreneurial venture: in my experience a few of the colleagues from certain parts of the country (long island, this might mean you, no offense, you are great & gorgeous but not always on top of this) had not yet tackled this important task before coming to college, so if you teach them how to separate their clothing and put soap in the machine, maybe they'll reward your patience. invest in a tip jar. shoot, i should have thought of this before.
#8. the usual: mobile phone, cordless phone (so you can talk in the hallway away from roommate), a computer if you can, scissors, paper, backpack, pens, etc.
oh, and post-it notes are incredibly useful. i can't explain it, but they're vital!
#9. a note on bed linen: the dorms like to send out intimidating mailings about the irregular "twin xl" bed size, but worry about it: just get some regular fitted sheets, i promise that it will work out. but since you've been given the chance to reinvent yourself, feel free to pick a set of hawaiian or animal print sheets to match the rest of the girls. guys, i would focus on a solid-color, like navy or hunter green. no flowers, probably.
#10. posters are a nice way to cover up the cinderblocks. my selections for freshman year included monet and kandinsky prints to liven up the mcnutt quad/crone hall double. my roommate also helped to make the place festive by gradually making what she called a "wall of boys" with cut-out pictures of mostly-nude abercrombie models. so pick whatever you like looking at, and hope that your new roommate doesn't put up pamela anderson or britney spears posters. not that there's anything wrong with that. :)
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in the spirit of generosity and charity, i'd like to take the chance to help out some of my younger friends who are now preparing to attend their first year of college. after all, two years of van-trips down to bloomington and a year abroad have taught me just a little bit about how painful it can be to lug a tv, vcr, computer, dorm-size refrigerator, and two seasonal wardrobes up three flights of stairs in unairconditioned indiana weather... may i humbly present:
la petite princesse's guide to packing for freshman year
#1. let's start with the basics: your college wardrobe should be comfortable, classy, and project the image that you'd like your 30,000 new friends to recognize. although redundant, "dress to impress" is a good mantra to live by, and one that everyone should consider before talking to a professor in a scooby-doo night shirt, martini-print pajama pants, or fuzzy slippers.
#2. speaking of clothing, those high school shirts? unless you're planning on wearing them with irony, consider leaving the majority at home (whereupon reentry you can rip your new university-themed shirt off and snuggle back into the happy, safe, blissful world known as "midland high school" everytime you come back). what i mean by this is, once you get to your new place, keep springing forward instead of looking back. it will help you make friends.
#3. whatever you think you need, you need only half of it (from c.diddy)
#4. duct tape, trust me. or my sister, rather, who thinks it's very important. :)
#5. batteries for your cd player. they're expensive to buy, so you'd be better off getting ma & pa to get them for you. (mom says the best deal is at sam's club).
#6. around the residence halls, quarters are as rare and sacred as evian in a desert. seriously, $1.75 for a load of wash and $1.50 for a wimpy dry spin will eat up your cash supply very quickly. and don't forget to separate darks, lights and delicates (girls only, i assume), so you can expect to go through lots and lots of change in a few weeks.
#7. speaking of laundry, if you do know how to do it, you're in store for an excellent potential entrepreneurial venture: in my experience a few of the colleagues from certain parts of the country (long island, this might mean you, no offense, you are great & gorgeous but not always on top of this) had not yet tackled this important task before coming to college, so if you teach them how to separate their clothing and put soap in the machine, maybe they'll reward your patience. invest in a tip jar. shoot, i should have thought of this before.
#8. the usual: mobile phone, cordless phone (so you can talk in the hallway away from roommate), a computer if you can, scissors, paper, backpack, pens, etc.
oh, and post-it notes are incredibly useful. i can't explain it, but they're vital!
#9. a note on bed linen: the dorms like to send out intimidating mailings about the irregular "twin xl" bed size, but worry about it: just get some regular fitted sheets, i promise that it will work out. but since you've been given the chance to reinvent yourself, feel free to pick a set of hawaiian or animal print sheets to match the rest of the girls. guys, i would focus on a solid-color, like navy or hunter green. no flowers, probably.
#10. posters are a nice way to cover up the cinderblocks. my selections for freshman year included monet and kandinsky prints to liven up the mcnutt quad/crone hall double. my roommate also helped to make the place festive by gradually making what she called a "wall of boys" with cut-out pictures of mostly-nude abercrombie models. so pick whatever you like looking at, and hope that your new roommate doesn't put up pamela anderson or britney spears posters. not that there's anything wrong with that. :)
#11. pick up a case of atkins bars or some other low-carbohydrate products. i hate to say it, but it's impossible not to gain weight from the pancakes, fried chicken, ice cream and hamburgers served in the dining halls. i have yet to meet someone who can actually eat salad three meals a day and live to tell the tale.
as a corollary to this, i'd like to remind those who may choose to start (or continue) to consume beer and similar refreshments that most mass-increases occur from this. and low-carbohydrate beer is usually not on the menu at fraternity parties. not that any of this should stop you, but sometimes the extra 15 minutes in the gym can pay off. and the gym is the best place to meet new people, odd as it sounds.
#12. also important: bring a camera so you can document your good times with new friends. make it a digital, and with lots more time, brilliance and creativity, maybe you could make the next bryan house, like josh claybourn did.
well, that's all i could come up with (with some help from danielle & dad). friends, i can't wait to see you back in bloomington! and, o wise upperclassmen, feel free to add extra tips in the comments, and i'll update as they come in. :)
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August 03, 2004
August 02, 2004
i'll be honest, this surgery thing isn't half-bad... complete immobility means breakfast, lunch, and dinner in bed served on a tray, lots of television, dvds of my choice, videos, pills that make me really, really happy, time to catch up with good friends via instant messenger and telephone, and no expectations on the part of the family regarding household chores, making bed, etc. i could get used to this... good thing, i guess, since i will have a cast on for the next three weeks and the fact that i literally can't go anywhere.
dad and i left at 4:30am on friday to go to the hospital in grand blanc, and by 5:45, i had snuggled into my hospital bed in a very stylish patient gown. i mostly behaved myself while the nice nurses stuck the i.v. in my hand (let us remember that i basically passed out twice at two different medical centers giving blood a few days before), and felt good going into the surgery. i woke up only once during the procedure, and discovered that i was strapped down to the table, but thankfully didn't care because of the relaxing medicines they gave me. i also felt great afterwards, and got home safely. but around 1pm, the nice numbing thingies in my foot wore off, and unbelievable, instense agony set in.
and by agony, i mean incomprehensible, throbbing pain.
which of course was remedied the next day by a little friend i like to call "apap/hydrocodone 500-5mg" (also known as vicodin).
so now the foot feels more tolerable, and i have been hobbling between my bed and my parents' room with a cast the size of a yacht. but apparently i say craaazy things too... a conversation from last night, as my sister returned from "the manchurian candidate," as reported by danielle:
camille: (incoherant mumbling)
danielle: camille, are you awake?
camille: where's the twinkling? why is there twinkling?
danielle: whaaaa?
camille: i heard twinkling... is your cell phone in my room?
danielle: um, it was in my room with only one missed call...
camille: how was the movie?
danielle: it was good, but what did you say it had to do with hillary clinton?
camille: millary. millary. millary streep. meryl streep... is supposed to be hillary.
danielle: uhhhh okay... does your leg hurt?
camille: yeahssss huurrrrt
danille: do you need to take some more medicine?
camille: pilly, pilly, pillyyyyyyy
oh gosh, just a few more weeks of this silliness... surely much fun in store for the family!
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dad and i left at 4:30am on friday to go to the hospital in grand blanc, and by 5:45, i had snuggled into my hospital bed in a very stylish patient gown. i mostly behaved myself while the nice nurses stuck the i.v. in my hand (let us remember that i basically passed out twice at two different medical centers giving blood a few days before), and felt good going into the surgery. i woke up only once during the procedure, and discovered that i was strapped down to the table, but thankfully didn't care because of the relaxing medicines they gave me. i also felt great afterwards, and got home safely. but around 1pm, the nice numbing thingies in my foot wore off, and unbelievable, instense agony set in.
and by agony, i mean incomprehensible, throbbing pain.
which of course was remedied the next day by a little friend i like to call "apap/hydrocodone 500-5mg" (also known as vicodin).
so now the foot feels more tolerable, and i have been hobbling between my bed and my parents' room with a cast the size of a yacht. but apparently i say craaazy things too... a conversation from last night, as my sister returned from "the manchurian candidate," as reported by danielle:
camille: (incoherant mumbling)
danielle: camille, are you awake?
camille: where's the twinkling? why is there twinkling?
danielle: whaaaa?
camille: i heard twinkling... is your cell phone in my room?
danielle: um, it was in my room with only one missed call...
camille: how was the movie?
danielle: it was good, but what did you say it had to do with hillary clinton?
camille: millary. millary. millary streep. meryl streep... is supposed to be hillary.
danielle: uhhhh okay... does your leg hurt?
camille: yeahssss huurrrrt
danille: do you need to take some more medicine?
camille: pilly, pilly, pillyyyyyyy
oh gosh, just a few more weeks of this silliness... surely much fun in store for the family!
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