Test anxiety, redux

Look, I know you're starting to think I'm like Chicken Little with this, but I really did suck my Spanish exam all up this time.

There were just too many verb tenses. I did fine on the vocab and I knew I would going in. But the verbs! There was subjunctive, which included making commands in two different ways; the imperfect progressive and contrasting the (regular) imperfect with the preterite. By the time I got to the end of the exam, which was LONG (I took this exam for an hour and a half...our teacher didn't seem to mind that me and two other students were there 15 minutes past the end of class), my brain was fried.

I couldn't remember the imperfect verb ending and I totally blew the last section. I know I blew it because she looked at my test and the test of another woman who is also a very good student and said, "Hmm, perhaps I shouldn't have put imperfect versus preterite on this test. Maybe it was too much."

Of course I don't even know about two other verb sections, it was late at one point I just started circle verbs hoping they were right and then praying I conjugated things right and there was one entire section where I had no idea what the instructions said except for make commands in the usted person, so I just went through making commands.

AND there was this random section with street signs that we didn't even TOUCH on in class. I guessed the best I could on that one too. Makes me wonder what I've been studying for the past three weeks.

I'm praying for a C.

Also, worked sucked ass today too. More on that later. I have to go do a self-review now. I'm way behind on crap I have to finish.

Roller skates + Greek Mythology = True Love

My guilty confession of the night is that I have just watched Xanadu for the first time and OH. MY. GOD. How could you not immediately love a movie that is soooo bad and takes itself soooo serious and also has Gene Kelly on roller skates!

My life has been forever changed. I will now only wear socks with high heels and also I plan to travel everywhere via roller skates. Goodbye Pathfinder. Goodbye Vespa. Hello Krypto Route 65s Chicago 400s!

Movies

So in the last few weeks I've Netflixed "Babel", "Stranger Than Fiction" and "Thanks For Your Consideration". I have been wowed by none of these movies.

I liked "Stranger Than Fiction" right up to the end where — and there will be a spoiler here — they don't kill the main character despite the fact the whole movie is leading up to that point and it's not the kind of not killing that makes you think, "Oh. That IS clever." No. It's the kind of not killing that makes you think, "Friggin' cowards." America cinema's refusal to kill off their heroes is very angering.

I liked "Thanks For Your Consideration". I didn't have high hopes for it because while "Waiting for Guffman" and "Best In Show" were awesome, I was disappointed by "A Mighty Wind." Guest's entire mockumentary focus seemed to be getting stale. And while this movie had the same feel, it was at least different in that there weren't interviews with the main characters, like the others. And I can't tell you how many times I've quoted that movie in the last few weeks (due largely to Purim, but still...) So it gets points for that.

My biggest disappointment was "Babel", however. The film was incredibly well acted. Thumbs up to all the actors and even more of them should have nominated for awards (except Brad Pitt...sorry Mr. Jolie, NO OSCAR for you!) But after I watched the whole two and half hours I was like, "WHAT?!" First of all I could never figure out what Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett were doing in Morocco? Who goes to Morocco to repair their marriage after their baby dies of SIDS? And why did SHE go to Morocco. She clearly didn't want to be there and he was the one that was supposed to be groveling because he took off and left her and kids after the baby died. So that just sets the whole thing off on the wrong foot. And okay, so I can buy the kids shooting at the bus and all that. But seriously? Why WOULDN"T you put her on the bus and rush her to the hospital after she's been all stitched up by the vet? How is going by bumpy ambulance any better than going by bumpy bus. Ladies, stay the hell away from Brad Pitt, he does not make good decisions regarding your well-being.

I liked the Japan plot line. I had no problems with that part of it. I even liked its connection to the Morocco plot line. But I think the dumbest was the Mexican nanny story line where after dragging these little white kids down to Mexico for her son's wedding, she would get into a car with her intoxicated nephew who has already had trouble with border patrol and drive back to San Diego at dawn? What? Oh and she's been living in the U.S. illegally for 16 years? Who would do that? Aren't you just asking border patrol to act like stupid American assholes? Oh and friggin' border patrol at Mexico SPEAKS SPANISH! Just like border patrol at Canada speaks French! So stupid. Then, THEN, she's going to get out in the middle of the desert with these kids? WHAT?!!!! I just....it makes me so angry. So, so very angry. We, the movie viewing audience, aren't all idiots. And it would be one thing if these were stupid characters or if they made one bad mistake. But that script was just silly and insulting to me as a audience member.

But again. I have to say wow to the acting. Can we get that cast in a good movie, please? Anyway, kudos to the Academy for ONCE for not giving in to the hype. That movie did not deserve Best Picture. However, thumbs down for not giving some of actresses awards and for not nominated the Japanese father for his role.

And that's all I have to say on the topic of movies for now. Maybe I'm a little too passionate about film, but I can't help it. I just think cinema could be so much more than it is. Why do you want to hurt me so, Hollywood? (¡And that includes you too Alejandro González Iñárritu!)

Ojalá

I'm thinking about the Peace Corps.

Increasingly what started as a joke at work is becoming more appealing and ever so slowly inching toward reality. According to a quiz on its Web site, I'm a very strong candidate and then the quiz suggested I submit an application. I will wait till April and see how I feel. But I'd like to do something selfless for a change and, at the same, I'm sure to be placed in either a Spanish or French speaking country, due to my background in those languages, which would help me toward fluency and maybe to a more permanent spot abroad.

It's not like I have anything keeping me in the US, other than my dog and cat. And that is a very sad statement on my life.

Mondo Munchies

I can't quite figure out why this photo is posting sideways. On my desktop it's right side up, but oh well.

Today I'd like to talk to you about strange snack foods. In Greece we have many oregano flavored snack foods, most notably chips. I recognize this is not American "normal" for snack foods. But I think the oddest thing I've encountered yet is fish flavored snack bits mixed with sweet snack bits in something that approaches trail mix.

After a short Internet search, I discovered that in Japan, they apparently have many fish-flavored snack foods — like the one you see pictured here. This little innocent package with the strange fish with giant eyes on the cover (a hint that much oddness was enclosed, I think) set me off on this search. My friend Evy was kind enough to send it from Japan. (She's such a rebel. She sent it without filling out a customs form. Rebel.) I opened the package last night to have with a beer (as per her suggestion) and thought, "Hmm. Smells like fish." The cat was immediately interested in what I was doing.

I took a bite and thought, "Oh. It TASTES like fish." Then I turned on the lamp next to me and looked at what I was eating and realized it had little bits of dried fish in it. But it also had what seemed to be nuts and something sweet. I can't get over how odd it was. I found this listed on the Internet and while not quite right, it's very close to what I experienced:

Ajigonomi: this handy bagged mix contains everything you need for nutrition from a basic meal: rice crackers, tiny dried fish, peanut flavoring, and no mess! You'll find this in bright red and yellow packaging, sometimes with picture of chilies on it if it's the spicy version.

So tell me, what other strange snack foods from other countries are out there for me to try? I'll keep a running tally of odd foods I've snacked on and how they measure up again' one another.

Ouch

I made an 80 on an essay in Spanish class. That hurts. The whole class did badly, except one girl that had her last semester. She made a 95. The teacher actually told us to STOP being creative. I've never heard that from a teacher. Our prof last semester always wanted us to try new things with our writing so we could learn things. I mean, he didn't want us to use verb tenses we hadn't studied, but he encouraged us to look up words we didn't know. Not this teacher.

I'm not sure what to think of this teacher. I asked her if we were going to get some exercises on the subjunctive usage — not verb endings, but when to use the subjunctive and when to use the present tense and when to use the past tenses. You know, so we can learn the practical applications of the tenses instead of just the theoretical uses. And she said, "The workbook doesn't really have any exercise. I would go to LearnSpanish.com or Google present subjunctive and Spanish. You'll be able to find something like that." I was thinking maybe she could make up some exercises for us to do, but she doesn't really seem to want to do anything requiring materials ancillary to the book and workbook we're using. That seems odd to me.

Other than that, I've spent my time booking travel because I cannot WAIT to get out of here. I'm going stir crazy and I need some socializing outside of my newsroom and classroom confines. I'm going home for Easter but before that I'm going to Chicago for a long weekend. I can't wait. Two and two thirds weeks and counting!