On Danish Transportation

At a Phillies game that I went to before I left the states (because I'm originally from the land of the Phightin' Phils and because my best friend's family is awesome), they made this announcement to "Stick around until the 7th inning to hear why our fans LOVE SEPTA!"  To which I called shenanigans, because no one loves SEPTA (SouthEastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority).  At best, people tolerate SEPTA because it kind of gets you where you need to go sometimes.

But public transportation here in Copenhagen is top notch.  I am obsessed with how simple the Metro system is (two lines, which go pretty much exactly the same places except for like 5 stops), then there are busses and the S-train, which is the regional train that takes you out to the outerlying neighborhoods of Greater Copenhagen.  And everything runs pretty consistently so you never have to wait more than like 10 minutes.  It's awesome.

But this evening, my lovely American roommate and I managed to get completely lost because we got on the right bus going the wrong way.  We were off in search of food: fun fact, they pretty much force you to go into the city from our little suburb-type neighborhood by just not having food anywhere around here.  So we hop on the 33 bus, which runs between our neighborhood and the City Centre.

...And, apparently, the outer reaches of Vestamager, which is two zones past what our school-provided transportation passes cover.  And the fine for getting caught on public transportation without a pass or with an insufficient pass is 750 kr (or about 125 USD).  So, thank god, we just pulled the "stupid, confused Americans couldn't understand the Danish bus schedule and accidentally got on the wrong bus" card and the bus driver was pretty understanding and took us home.

Today's lesson: Don't stray from the path.  Accept the role you have and don't try and adventure, because otherwise you will end up in Zone 4 which is nothing but houses anyway and you could get in lots of trouble.

Confusedly yours,
Rachel Leigh

Okay, so it's that time again where I give a nod to an awesome blog that I've been reading excessively recently.  I am ABSOLUTELY obsessed with The Ticking Time-Bombshell, also known as Janaiah, also known as BerkeleyBabe for anyone who reads articles on The College Town Life.  She's hilarious, swears like a sailor, and is probably one of the most honest bloggers I've read in a while.  Legitimately obsessed.  I'm pretty sure I fell in love with "How to Disappoint Your Parents," "Revenge 101," and "Santa's Hit List."  So yeah, seriously, go read that blog.

On a completely unrelated note, while I am neither the first nor the only person to say this, is there ANYTHING duct tape can't do?  I'm starting to believe the answer to that question is no.  Well, actually, I know from personal experience that it can't make a good/usable cup, and said cup would probably kill you if you used it more than once.  But in all seriousness, after about 10,000,000 failed attempts to hang my posters with sticky tack or poster strips like we're supposed to and having them fall down every. single. time., I sucked it up and used duct tape, and now everything is better.  Take that, people who called me out on buying $20 worth of duct tape.  Perfectly reasonable investment.

In other news, my trip to Copenhagen is officially booked, and as such "WCS Goes to Europe" is set to launch August 18.  Be prepared.

Well, this was just a little news update for all you, my darling readers.  Be good.

No, I don't have an internship.  Oh my god, I hate that question.  I'm happy for everyone I know who has an internship, especially one they find fulfilling.

But I'm sorry.  I work two jobs, participate in three clubs and help run two of them, am currently rehearsing/preparing for two different theatre-ish productions, am taking three full-credit classes, a Wellness class, and an independent study.  Do not make me feel guilty because I don't have an internship.

Aside from that, I try to devote a solid amount of time to my work on maintaining my blog, which matters to me a great deal.  I also can't drive, which makes transportation back and forth to an internship a tricky concept.  So don't make me feel bad when I don't have an internship.

On 2012

Happy New Year to the darlingest of readers!

As the Christmas food comas and the around-the-clock napping of Winter Break begin to wear off (because I'm headed back to campus in six days!), it seems like a wonderful time to welcome in 2012, the year we're all going to die and the first presidential election I am old enough to vote in.
On a side note, after 40 years, it may be time to retire Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.  Not because it's anything short of excellent programming, but because I spend most of the final countdown cringing at the fact that Dick Clark can barely talk and his spray-tan is one of the most atrocious things to which I have ever born witness.

Anyway, I'm absolutely horrendous at making and keeping New Years Resolutions.  Some years I just forget to make them altogether.

This year, I've resolved to:

1. Blog More.  Which I know I say every time I go on an accidental hiatus and then come back practically in tears and begging for your forgiveness, but you do mean a lot to me and you deserve my love and attention, don't you, darling readers?
2. Lose Weight.  Buuuuuut...let's be serious.  My diet plan consists of an overwhelming inability to cut energy drinks, coffee, and croissants out of my diet, and my exercise regimen consists of walking to and from class like a chicken with its head cut off.  While I admire myself for setting this goal, I doubt my actual abilities to see it through.
3. Clean My Room More.  This resolution may well kill me, but my room needs to stop looking like a blast zone.
4. Study Abroad.  If I manage to pull this off, Fall 2012 will be filled with posts and photos of glorious adventures around Europe.

Anyway, if you see me and I appear to be ignoring these resolutions, please smack the coffee out of my hands, drag me to the gym, and yell at me to post more and check the status of my DIS application.

Optimistically yours,
Rachel Leigh

I think it's pretty rare to be able to say that you've had the same teacher for four classes in high school. I think it's also pretty rare to be able to say that that teacher had a profound and lasting effect on who you are as a person.

I wish I could have been around for his last year teaching. One of my all-time favorite teachers, who taught me for three years of my high school career and helped to shape my views of life, choices, technology, English literature, and the importance of play in learning, is retiring this week.

While I may have graduated last year, I am actually deeply saddened that no future students will have the experience of him touching their lives. Teaching them about the uselessness of Classics majors, how to be "brief but brilliant," to never start a sentence with "however," that all literature is about sex and death, and that a good gifted class reading ends with everybody dying or the Singularity.

He taught me how to say the things worth saying, to really fall in love with the work I was doing, and that sometimes the best projects are ones that you write the night before in a fit of brilliant inspiration. Also, that sometimes everyone decides to kill off their main character.

Remember Elpenor. Sleeping with a sword between yourself and that special someone. The Sick Rose. Childhood's End. Alexander Rybak.

...You will be missed.

Love,
Rachel Leigh