(no subject)

[bitchy_merlin]

*pokes LJ* Hey buddy, you done glitching yet? I’m running out of excuses to delay filling out my Off-Campus Activity Safety Planning Form; I’ve had the tabs open for months. I mean, not that reading about the hazards of travel in the Netherlands isn’t interesting, but it doesn’t really hold a candle to the steamy, sexually-charged and beautifully angst-ridden awesomeness that is the relationship between Erik Lensherr and Charles Xavier. (Killing will not bring you peace, Erik! Neither will cupcakes, nor transfer directions to the train station in Groningen, s2s.)

 

Life is clicking along. Mom and Dad are in Calgary this week, on vacation (grrr, lucky!). David and I have been raiding the freezer for dinner items lately. We found curry from last year; it tasted ok but had the uniform texture of carpet (#studentlife).  

Weekend in a blink, before the actual post (mostly so that when I am eighty and want to relive my youth, I can appreciate how little will have changed…):

Saturday: Officially longest cardio workout of life. Mom, Dad and I dropped David off at work (near YorkU’s Glendon campus) and then biked down to the Lakeshore at Leslie (approx 15-20k), whereupon I decided that what the situation really called for was a 10k run (the longest distance I’ve run in my life, natch). Then, I realized maybe the run had been a mistake, because we still had to bike home. *facepalm*

On Saturday evening, cherishedsaulie  and I ventured bravely into the TNT Night Market festival. Or, we ventured bravely most of the way there, and then had to rely on Dad for a ride, because apparently the second flood had been booked for that evening without our knowledge. We also watched the Winnie the Pooh movie. O.M.G. Too cute. <3

Sunday: Wake up at 6am (!!) to make pancakes and go for a bike ride with Oliver. I think we spent more time napping and cuddling on his bed than anything else, but whatevs. That evening, cherishedsaulie and I went to the Night Market again – take two! Much more successful, and involving the consumption of epically tasty food, including takoyaki and tornado potatoes.

On Monday this week, I met up with Chloe and went downtown to Yonge Street Tattoos to get a quote for a design I had in mind. Three hundred and seventy-five dollars! OMG, no way. That’s, like, my rent in Groningen for a month. Needless to say, I was unimpressed. Plus, there were other constraints I hadn’t factored in when considering the tattoo, such as the stipulation that after getting the tattoo, I should “avoid exercise for three to six weeks”. Have we met?

But that was Monday, and as luck would have it, the situation has changed slightly in the interim. And by “changed slightly”, I mean I got an email yesterday from Queen’s being all “Heyyyy, you’ve won this award! Now let us give you shiny money!”. It’s not a lot of money, per se (not as far as tuition is concerned, anyhow), but it’s definitely an unexpected windfall and I’m all smiles over here. And of course, I’m thinking I could expense the tattoo under the scholarship, so that’s a plus.

Then, there was the design itself. Originally, I was thinking of the simplest permutation of the design. Then, buoyed by the tattoo artist, I thought of adding extra embellishments to the design, and the concept looked pretty cool… but then I saw the price. Now, I’m back at my original idea as the way to go: not only is it cheaper, but also, do I really need something as big as my hand for my first tattoo? I don’t think so.

The plan is to go in over the weekend to get another quote – and maybe even book an appointment.  

Frankly, though, I’m still conflicted. I want the tattoo; I want something that grounds me while I’m living abroad, and the idea of something permanent on my body is… alluring, to say the least. It just feels like so much work to get it. Or not work, really, but the stress that would accompany the aftercare (no exercise! D:) and stuff… I don’t really know if that’s something I want to do to myself a month before jetting off to live in another country for a year. (Yeah, this is a lot of navel gazing; if anyone has advice, it would be much appreciated!)

Is anyone else having trouble believing July is almost over? WHERE DID MY SUMMER GO ;ALKSDJF;ASKJT;A I can’t even. Then again, I can’t even a lot of things right now, so that’s pretty much par for the course.