mon bric à brac à moi.

This goes out to Kassy... who is currently on a plane.

2009-12-26T17:05:00.000-07:00

3 stars!! Finito!!

East Side Gallery, Berlin

2009-12-21T13:18:00.001-07:00

This is such a genius idea! Melz and I went to the East Side Gallery, where the largest part of the Berlin Wall stands. Artists were invited to draw on a portion of the wall. It was beautiful... hopeful and inspiring... for a better Berlin. While freezing our butts off, Melz and I talked about how it's so incredible that it's such recent history! I mean, the wall only came down 20 years ago!! 9 November 1989! I can't even imagine that Berlin literally had a wall straight through the middle for that long!! WoW!

So here are some pictures of my favourite artists:

I like this quote!

Melz.

Kalt!

Berlin Zoo!

2009-12-23T06:03:00.001-07:00

I went to the zoo, but I didn't really take any pictures, but I have some funny stories.

In the giraffe house, there were these really large deer-like animals. One of them was sitting close to the gate and chewing away like a cow. I told Melz, "Wow, he eats exactly like a cow..." So I made cow noises. Then he stopped chewing... and his eyes got bigger... and I kept mooing... and his ears went back... We left before he rammed his head against the gate. Haha! :S

We went inside to see the monkeys and there was one that was so funny!! Everytime we tilted our head, he would tilt his head the opposite way. He was so confused!! And then he would make a noise that sounded a LOT like a cat. We named him Bobby.

Also in the monkey house were mongooses. We saw a ringtailed mongoose and he got all the way up to the glass, so I put my finger back and forth along the glass and he chased it like a cat. It was so cute! He kept following me until I left.

We went to the petting zoo, where you could put in 10 or 20 cents and get feed for the animals, but those little goats attacked the machine before we could get any feed!! They just swarm and bite! It was scary! Ha, not really, but still! I can see why kids are afraid of goats!!

Pictures from the petting zoo part:

Lastly, Melz wanted to see the hippo, so we spent the better part of 2 hours looking for the hippo. In the end, the hippo house was literally 100 yards from the entrance of the zoo!!

And that's it.

DH - 2 Days Late...

2009-12-24T14:01:00.000-07:00

... but a great idea nonetheless.

Masked Ball

2009-12-21T13:44:00.001-07:00

Kassy and I have an invitation to a masked ball for a New Years Eve Eve party (oh yes, I wrote that right). We're going to do the London Eye for New Years Eve, but for the night before... MASKED BALL!!

So I found a mask for her, and I'm gonna make my own, but Melz and I tried it on and played with the pink gloves that came with it. Have a look-see!

I'M IN BERLIN!!!!

2009-12-20T05:57:00.000-07:00

Just got here yesterday. I was walking from the plane to the terminal and the movable hallway thing was frozen!! It was -12ºC (which is 9ºF).

Here are a couple pictures from the plane...

This is London.

I have a hard time believing

that it's so rainy in London,

considering, so far,

the three times I've been there,

it looked like this...

cleeear!!

And here's one of Berlin,

where the frozen hallway was!

rachel et moi... movies.

2009-12-04T22:49:00.001-07:00

my friend rachel doesn't watch a lot of movies. and honestly, neither do i. however, there is a long list of movies i've seen that she hasn't that i would consider great movies.

this is where i just keep that list [as i discover and remember them] to be updated as they arise. this is in no particular order.

eurotrip.
under the tuscan sun.
sex and the city movie.
ps. i love you.
swing kids.
newsies.
molière.
le dîner de cons.
im juli.
superbad.

Everything I've learned in French 410:

2009-12-15T03:08:00.003-07:00

because rachel and i are the awesome-est people in the history of final projects, here's our final for french 410: film and fiction.

easiest, funnest final ever!!

we rock!

oh... did you miss that culmination of cool?

here's a slow-down:

pretty freakin' awesome, right? :P

now i'm going to bed (@ 3am).

i want this!!

2009-12-07T20:11:00.000-07:00

how much of a nerd am i that i want this clock?

best bad day i've ever had!!

2009-12-07T00:53:00.001-07:00

bad things that have happened today:
.woke up with a bloody nose.
.also woke up with a not-so-happy tummy.
.pulled quad muscle at 4pm game.
.probably didn't help said strain by dancing.
.lost 10pm game on pk's.

good things that have happened today:
.won game at 4pm to go on to quarter finals.
.danced in salsa performance at 6.30pm.
~~.something about getting someone's number in my phone.~~

tehehe...

the last good thing made the whole day a happy day. :D

qu'est-ce que vous collectionnez?

2009-12-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

^fr rachel et moi faisons un projet finale pour français. ce projet remplace notre examen finale. le critère de ce projet est simplement pour creer quelque chose, soit un essai, soit un projet comme un vidéo, qui mélange au moins de deux concepts des textes et des films que nous avons étudiés dans ce cours. j'aime notre idée et j'espère qu'il marche bien aussi. nous allons collectionner les collections, c'est-à-dire que nous avons demandé des collections de nos amis. nous allons creer un collage de sortes pour montrer l'idée de « les glaneurs et la glaneuse » par agnès varda, mais il va être comme le photo-roman « la jetée » réalisé par chris marker.

pourriez-vous nous aider? envoyez un photo de toi en t'engageant dans ou avec ta collection. mon email est klocko@email.arizona.edu

merci en avance!!

^en rachel and i are making a final project for french. this project replaces our final exam. the criteria for this project is simply to create something, be it an essay, be it a project like a video, that combines at least two concepts from the texts and films that we have studied in this course. i like our idea and i hope that it goes well too. we're going to collect collections, that is to say that we've asked our friends for their collections. we're going to create a collage of sorts to show the idea presented in "the gleaners and i" by agnès varda, but it's also going to be set as a photomontage "the jetty" (or "the pier") directed by chris marker.

would you all please help us? send a photo of yourself engaged in or engaging with your collection or a part of your collection. my email is klocko@email.arizona.edu

thank you sososo much!

cette fille arrive à se remettre sur les rails...

2009-12-03T17:48:00.000-07:00

^fr je joue encore le foot... après un très longtemps!! achso, le titre veut dire que je vais changer ma vie pour le meilleur. je suis bien motivée... je courais et j'ai acheté un journal pour courir et un autre pour bien-être. je vais surveiller tout ce que je mange. je vais exercer plus regulièrement et dormir plus et mieux.

ce changement va transférer aussi à ma vie scolaire. j'ai décidé (seulement un an trop tard) ce que je veux vraiment faire comme étude et carrière. je vais changer ma spécialisation de français et allemand aux études internationales avec un accent sur l'economie politique appliquée, c'est-à-dire les relations internationales. j'ai seulement 3 ou 4 cours plus pour une spécialisation française, donc je pense qu'il sera les deux. les mauvaises nouvelles sont que je doit peut-être lâcher mes études allemandes. j'en peux pas! et à cause de cela, je vais rester ici à l'université d'arizona pour un trimestre plus. :( yay... class of fall 2011! [insérer le sarcasme ici] mais en ce cas-là, je vais pas gaspiller mon temps avec quelque chose que je regrette plus tard comme une erreur.

^en i'm playing football again... after a very long time!! anyways, the title means that i'm going to change up my life for the better. i'm well-motivated... i have been running and i bought a workout journal and a well-being journal. i'm going to watch all that i eat. i'm going to exercise more regularly and sleep more and better.

this change is also going to transfer to my school life. i decided (only a year too late) what i really want to do in school and as a career. i'm going to change my major from french and german to international studies with an emphasis in applied political economics, that is to say international relations. i only have 3 or 4 more courses for my french major, so i think that it'll end up being those two. the bad news is that i might have to drop my studies in german. i really don't want to! and because of that, i'm going to be here at the u of a for another for another semester longer. :( yay... class of fall 2011 [insert sarcasm here] but at least in this case, i'm not wasting my time on something i'll regret as a mistake later.

impatient.

2009-11-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

ok, david horvitz.

ask and you shall receive!

2009-11-13T20:48:00.001-07:00

now that it's getting down to the last 5 weeks before my winter trip to europe, i'm trying to work through my checklist. at the top of this list is: a winter coat.

so i asked my mom "so, can i have a coat and winter clothes for my birthday?"
"actually, wanna try one that i've had in my closet for a year?"

so now i can cross off an insulated jacket!

but then i remembered, i also have a peacoat too!

YUM!

2009-11-12T23:12:00.000-07:00

i think my body is trying to kill me...
i've had this weird craving for a chili dog for about a week...

this was dinner:

two home-made chili-con-carne-cheese-dogs and tots... aka the clogged-arteries-and-heart-stopper plate!

and of course... dessert was my 6th cup of hot chocolate in the last week.

mm mm good. campbell's soup ain't got nothin' on me n' my cocoa!

la joie de la poste!

2009-11-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

haha... peut-être je suis un bien-pensant, mais j'adore envoyer et recevoir des choses à la poste! c'est pour cette raison que j'étais très heureuse à recevoir une offre de mon bureau de poste. (mon bureau de poste parce que je vais là très souvent et les beamter postales me connaissent.) en tout cas, cette offre était pour 4 boîtes tarif-uniformes... gratuit!! woot!!

j'ai un 'care-pack' pour mon amie à portland, qui restait en tas depuis quelques semaines.

et aussi, je devrais aussi envoyer des lettres à mes correspondants!

bah... i'm getting behind!

victoria drove the air cart...

2009-10-10T01:32:00.004-07:00

... for about 6 inches.

BUT STILL!!!

So... an air cart is a real-life hover craft. It makes moving the GMT's 20 tons of glass possible. And IIIII drove it!!!

Reality sucks... we know, thanks.

2009-11-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

One of my goals in life that has developped in the last few years is that my little sister April would never have to have a hard life... that she would become a good person, with strong morals and a warm heart that has a strong motivation to better herself... that she would always know she's loved... that she'd never turn to drugs, gangs or other things that turn good kids into bad decisions... that she'd never have to worry about working 50 hours a week to get through school...

I love my parents to death... my dad is one of the most intelligent people I know, which is definitely saying something, because I work with some world-renowned researchers and scientists and doctorates. My mom is one of the most giving people I know... she works so hard for everyone else besides herself. I know very well that my parents love my sister and me exponentially. Despite all this, they weren't always there growing up, or even now, necessarily. Because of this, my sister and I have always leaned on each other for support. Every Thanksgiving or Christmas or recital or soccer game or other important event in our lives that our parents missed, April and I would just say "F*** them, we'll start our OWN traditions... we'll NEVER do that to OUR kids!!" It's just how we got through our parents being oh-so-often MIA.

There was a point to this story, but I decided against divulging it to a faceless audience until the decision has been made. In any case, now you know a little more about why my sister and I both can't stand each other, but love each other more than a lot of sibs can even relate.

V for Vendetta

2009-11-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

An excellent movie, I must say!

In honour of Guy Fawkes Day, I'm watching "V for Vendetta". Then I'm going create a plot to overthrow the US government. Sounds like a fantasticly productive evening, don't you think?

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder treason and plot,
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

Halloween Pics!

2009-11-01T00:28:00.001-07:00

i know... i have no pictures of my own costume... lame.

here are my friends, though!

@ buckelew farm corn maze in three points, arizona.
matt: batman. mike: skater boy. kassy: cat woman. me: wushu warrior.

@ halloween party in tucson, arizona.
me: rock star. rachel: rotkäppchen. micaiah: cheetah girl.

People are Cowards.

2009-11-02T18:43:00.000-07:00

I'm still extremely heated over this whole ordeal. I fumed the entire 10-minutes from the bus stop to my house.

I rode the bus home, as I usually do. This kid who was wearing a medical face mask got on the bus and sat near the front. At the next stop, a large, obviously drunk and possibly drugged out man sits 2 seats from the kid. He starts muttering gibberish. Then he tells the kid to shut up. Mind you, this kid has said nothing the entire time. Then the man starts whispering something into the kid's ear. I think he was asking the kid why he was wearing the face mask, but then his tone changes and he tells the kid to shut up and that he's going to shoot the kid, while making gun gestures with his hand. People just sat around shaking their heads or burrowing their heads deeper into their books or newspapers. I'm mad that I sat there watching the whole thing. Finally, the man starts pulling on the kid's face mask, so I spoke up "Dude... seriously, keep your hands to your goddamn self!" and the bus driver finally notice what was going on and pulled the bus over. The man pulled on the kid's hoodie and the bus driver told the man to get off the bus. Since the man was ignoring him, the bus driver called the police. About 5 minutes later, the police lights came around the corner and the man got off before the police had to escort him. Once the drunk man got off, I asked the kid if he was ok and he just shook his head 'yes', clearly shell-shocked from the whole ordeal.

So this leads me to ask why no one else said anything? I'm still mad at myself for waiting so long to speak up too, but I was getting so heated that if that man had touched the kid one more time, I was ready to kick the man off the bus myself... good thing the bus driver took action.

Why didn't anyone even say "Yeah, man, stop." Or just "Leave him alone... he didn't do anything to you!"

It makes me mad that people don't help other people out. For me, I'm always ready for a fight... but only if it's for a good reason, a just cause.

People are cowards. Why?!

Happy Halloween, kiddies!

2009-10-31T10:02:00.001-07:00

My family is in town for a few days (from Korea!). Since they pooped out early yesterday, I went to El Parador (for the first time) while they filled the house with their cacophonous karaoke notes.

Today, we're headed to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum (a cliché albeit classic choice, I know). Then we'll see what the rest of the day has in store.

As far as Halloween, this will be my first real Halloween... I've never really done anything for Halloween. Kassy and a few of her friends are going to eat dinner chez elle, then go to Damon's haunted house (coworker). After that, we'll check out the Buckelew Farm haunted corn maze, but we'll see what'll come after that.

I'm dressing up as a Wushu Warrior (aka the Chinese version of a Samurai)... What about you? What are you dressing up as?!?

Happy Birthday, Victoria.

2009-10-18T02:58:00.000-07:00

So, I went out for my 21st birthday at Sur Real. I just danced salsa and one of my oldest friends Amanda ordered a Stoli Around the World for my first legal drink. Then, I had a nice Chardonnay (Casas del Bosque). I danced so much! and I had a blast!

After Sur Real, we went to IHOP to eat. I am exhausted!.. and definitely a little tipsy.

Thanks everyone for the email/text inbox full of birthday wishes! I love you all!

Now I'm going to sleep off my haze... and tomorrow it's the Wine and Food Festival, the Blues Festival and then the Salsa Social! This will be one great birthday! :D (No alcohol necessary!)

autunno è qua!!

2009-10-14T11:35:00.004-07:00

Kassy and I carved pumpkins! This was the first time I carved a pumpkin! :]
(I'm still waiting on her pictures of them together with candles in them)

Here's my design that I drew for it:

And the pumpkin:

Scholarship essay: 250 words or less.

2009-10-03T16:03:00.002-07:00

I've just submitted this essay for a scholarship.
It's exactly 250 words! I hope I get it!!

Oh, and I answered question #1.

In 250 words or less, please submit an essay on one of the following:
1. Why do you deserve to win this scholarship? -OR-
2. Describe your academic or career goals. -OR-
3. Any topic of your choice.

Café-culture is universal. Whether you’re in Tucson, Cali, Berlin, Mumbai, Suwon, Alexandria or Doha, it’s there, permeating the corners of every culture. So, what do I mean by ‘café-culture’? I mean the same thing about which Monica Bhide recently wrote for the National Geographic. I’m talking about the same emotions you experience when your best friend, who you haven’t seen in years, comes through the terminal door at the airport. I’m referring to the idea that people are relational. People WANT to come together, they WANT to talk and they WANT to connect with others. People don’t want to fight; they want to make friends. The key is finding the “café” that will give them a reason to meet.

In order to better understand the question of why I deserve this scholarship, I looked up the word “deserve”. I learned that the word comes from a Middle-English word that means “to devote oneself to the service of”. So I asked myself, “What do I devote most of my life towards that makes me worthy of this scholarship?” Well, I devote myself to café-culture. My life’s ambition is quite simple; I want to connect people. I want my friend from Duba to one day sit with my other friend from Prague and have a civil conversation that doesn’t end in blows. I’m working towards this idea everyday by treating each person with respect and letting them know they deserve the chance to be heard. That is why I deserve this scholarship.