Somehow everything can best be explained through the use of Calvin and Hobbes.

 Today, Monday November 29^th is significant for many reasons:
It is the birthday of our dear, wonderful program administrator, Kadie.  It is a week before we leave for the United States.  And it marks the beginning of finals week.  And this is the first time in my college career that I have finished any of my final papers by the time finals week proper rolls around.  

Usually it goes something like this:

But no, this time I was prepared!  And as I sit on the couch in Apartment Lucy on Monday , three of my four papers are complete and have been turned in.  “Aha, you’ve finally learned!”  one might say.  But one would be wrong.  It is not that I have suddenly, halfway through my senior year, learned to work on my papers in a timely manner.  This beautiful, momentous occasion is due entirely to a weekend at the Cabana.

The FNO Cabana sits in the small ski-village of Straja atop Mt. Straja, 9 km due "up"from Lupeni.  Straja is home to summer’s Viața camp, and the Cabana at Straja is home to Viața’s summer leaders.  In the winter, though, it is home to Adi and, for the past weekend, Kadie & us studenții. 

On Thursday night, after a beautiful Thanksgiving day of fellowship and food at the Bates’ home, the five students, Capt’n Kadie and Adi drove up Strada Straja (Straja Road) to the town of Straja where we intended to stay two nights and return on Saturday evening.  Upon our departure, we laughed at ourselves for the excessive quantity of food we had packed.  By this morning, though, we had just about finished it off.  I worried beforehand about how little homework I would get done, locked in a Cabin on a mountain with a mess of fun people for the weekend.  By last night, though, I had accomplished a good cite more than I ever would have in Lupeni.  So now, an extra two nights later, here we are back in Lupeni, thanks to a glorious weekend of snow.  There is simply nothing more delightful than being snowed into a warm cabin in the mountains on the weekend with no urgent need to leave.  And the extra time just made the time even more relaxing, productive and delightful!   

Much of our semester, to date, had looked like this, in hopes of seeing snow on the Transylvannian alps before our departure. 

I think I understand how perfect Calvin’s comparison of a snowfall to a lottery win is!  

 So a full weekend of snow from atop the mountains was simply heavenly!

Other than the many papers completed, here are some of my make-you-jealous highlights of the weekend: 

Good conversation with great company.

Warmth, hot chocolate, down comforters and a den-like living room for cozying up with a good book.  

(Granted, we didn’t have a fire…or even warm tiger tummies, but this is the feeling.)

A nearly-constant snowfall, huge windows overlooking the fog-covered, mountains, town, valley and steady stream of children and sleds flying down the hill or the snowed-over road…  Glorious! 

Laughing at (and later joining) Kelly & Julie as they danced around the living room to the sounds of Luther College Choral Christmas music.

Hiking up to the Straja Cross and then through snowy pine woods down a darling little trail. All accompanied by a massive, extensive snowball fight. (Photos stolen from Kelly Larsen – Thanks Kelly!)

And, of course…knitting with Kadie! 

The perfect way to spend the weekend of finals?  I think so!   

Paying Homage to November (Or, When Procrastination reaches the point of no return.)

No Shave November, which means…It’s Mustache Procrastination time!!! There is nothing quite as silly as a mustache. Really.  It’s true.

For Example:

Or how about this one?

The best part is that they come in so many varieties!

And, of course, the mustache requires special precautions…like a mustache mug (pictured below!)

So good!!! Makes me wish for a mustache!

But, thankfully, there are some great inventions on the market for the mustache-challenged!

Check these out:  Of course, the classic Nose/glasses/mustache/brows combo!

And a neat newcomer on the market: The bottle-top mustache!

Who could pass up this cute, cuddly little fella?  The plushstache has got to be the snuggliest  mustache-innovation yet!

And then we have this instantly-classic, but simple mustache technique! Cozy warm for those chill November days!

The Simply and Elegant Masquerade Mustache… always a good choice for formal affairs.

In a pinch, there are other good ways to craft a speedy mustache:

A Mushroom-stache can be a nice way to go and provides a snack for later, just in case.

In the end, though, you can’t beat the simplicity of the finger-stache, easily stashed away between other fingers, this is a good Day-to-Night mustache, easily restyled and readily accessible for a quick identity change on the go.

Oh, PS, did you know that mustaches can make for great humor? It’s true.  Like so:

Ok, maybe its not all that great…

But here’s a fun Salvador Dali mustache anecdote:

“Since I don’t smoke, I decided to grow a mustache – it is better for the health. However, I always carried a jewel-studded cigarette case in which, instead of tobacco, were carefully placed several mustaches, Adolphe Menjou style. I offered them politely to my friends: “Mustache? Mustache? Mustache?” Nobody dared to touch them. This was my test regarding the sacred aspect of mustaches”

Yeah, k, that wasn’t great, either…  But Salvador had a great mustache, as seen in his self-portrait, below.

Filed under Mustaches, Procrastination

The crazies always catch you in the end...

A weekend home alone.

Julie, Kelly, Zach & Alice are in Iași.

Kadie, Dana, Brandi & the kids are in Bucharest.

Tad & I are in Lupeni.

I am in Apartment Lucy.

And here're a few weekend thoughts:
I never want to live alone long-term.  If only because I cannot concentrate when there is such a pervasive layer of quiet!  Plus, I give myself far too much credit when it comes to self-discipline.  As in, I thought I had some.  So far I have accomplished precious little.

...unless I get extra credit for eating half a package of petite beurre crackers, sleeping for 12 hours straight or trimming my own hair 3 times.
I read Ephesians and the Peters.
I watched the makeover clips from 4 seasons of America's Next Top Model.
I fell down the stairs and acquired 3 blisters from cooking oil burns.
I made French Onion soup, fried potatoes and an awesome avacado/red pepper grilled cheese sandwich.
I chatted with Daniel via facebook and chatted with tad in person.
I wore the same clothes all three days and will probably wear them again tomorrow.
I napped two days in a row.
I read Sara Moser & Kelsey Plummer's blogs and wrote my own post about fall break.
I washed the dishes, hung Julie's clothes and forget to sweep the floor until now...it needs it.
I added 5 mosquitoes to my tally on the kill chart and managed to make myself sick on coffee.
I took out the trash, after staring at it for days.
I tried to pack all my belongings into my suitcase and decided that I probably can't go home with 1 less piece of luggage than I came it, after all.
I purchased ice cream and left it out on the counter all night.
I listened to 5 great podcasts, while cooking/washing dishes/cleaning.

I have had a great time...good thing there is one more day left for all the things I actually had to get done...

Go watch this video that Tad sent to me.  Its my weekend in a nutshell.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItMFWpKofSg&feature=channel

I don't think this could go on much longer than a weekend, though, without insanity setting in.  Because I can't seem to focus when I have this much time and space and freedom to loaf around without invading someone else's territory or time or whatnot.  Especially because I left my shtuff all over the bedroom (because I can!) nd even caught myself taking a 4-hour nap this afternoon...i don't think that could be ok for daily life.

The relaxation ends at some point and the crazies set in...I've been belting Viva La Vida and Wunderkind by turns, and depending on what iTunes shuffle starts crankin' at me.  My hairbrush has served as a microphone. Not that this is unusual in my "real life"...but its a little goofy for Marit-on-her-own and is usually reserved or bouncing on the couch with Sarah Fisher or Rebecca Dix.

Focus is hard, though, dude, when I have what looks like unlimited time.  Maybe the clock will seem to start ticking tomorrow...  =/

Just too far gone to be saved...

I did not write during cluj or fall break.  After fall break, I was determined to start again where I left off.  I tried, but only got through Cluj, and even that very scantily.  And I have since then been unwilling to write because of how much would be missing.  "You can't write about now until you write about break!" I gave myself many such ultimatums, but unfortunately they served only as a procrastination method, rather than an incentive to write about break.


And so in the interest of finishing up the semester in good communication with my blog readers (Hi Mom! Hi Grandma!), I will be posting a list of moments from break and then will continue to write about my life in the present afterwards, instead of waiting to catch up.


Fall break itinerary:
Saturday: 6:50 AM Maxi-Taxi to Petrosani.
Saturday 8:15 AM Bus to Timisoara
Stay the night at a Hostle in Timisoara (The only one that felt like a hotel and where we had two rooms.)
Sunday 1 PM Flight to Treviso, Italy.
Sunday PM tromp around Treviso, fall in love with Italy!  Go out for Pizza in the old city. Eat Gelato.
Stay the night at Casa de la Rosa Hostle in Treviso (the only one that felt like a house -- like staying in the basement at Grandma's house during Christmas travels.)
Monday AM Pick up rental car and head to Florence.
Monday PM Trek around Florence, Look at beautiful buildings, Split up for the first time (Me & Zach: Visit Cody & Kait Raak, Eat Gelato, TALK!  Tad, Julie & Kelly: Eat Pasta and drink Italian wine -- an experience Zach & I both missed out on, for this trip...)
Stay the night at a hostle in downtown Florence (the only one where we shared a bathroom with the whole hallway!)
Tuesday AM The Academia (Art gallery, home of the original David, etc.)
Tuesday PM Drive to Milan by way of Pisa (Home of the leaning tower, etc.).  Eat Gelato.
Stay the night at a hostle in Milan (the only one with drunk hosts, a spiral staircase up to our room...and a slanted ceiling in the bathroom which 3 out of 5 of us cracked our heads on!)
Wednesday AM Drive to the airport, stop for gas, eat gelato, drive to the car rental return then walk to the airport.
Wednesday PM Fly to Budapest.
Wednesday PM Wait at the airport for Kenda to pick us up...she never shows up.  Facebook Robert, who gives us instructions for managing on our own (i.e. getting to the Metro station by bus, where he will meet us and bring us to the Calvin student housing).  Manage to get to the metro, meet Robert and spend the next two-ish days tromping around Budapest with the Calvin students.  =) 
Stay for two nights with the Calvinites in their apartments. (The only place where we were surrounded by bazillions of people!) 
Thursday AM-PM seeing the city! The market, several beautiful churches, the best Hummus place I've ever eaten, a climb up the coolest hill ever to watch the sun set...and then Hungarian Folk Dancing, a ridiculous coffee-shop/bar to try & find a few people and, finally, home via a sprint to the metro, which was closing soon.
Friday AM The Calvinites left around 7 for a trip to Croatia, so they ran around like mad while we watched from our comfy beds/couches.  After they left, we slept, read, went for coffee...just generally relaxed it up until around noon.
Friday PM Tromped around town for a bit before heading to the home of a family who should have been in Lupeni, but instead were kicked out of Romania and were living in Budapest for a few months.  It has to do with the Visa thing, which I'll tell you about eventually, or you can ask me about it later.
Friday PM Made it to the Michmerhuizen's house, 45 minutes outside of the city proper, after a lot of train-and-buss craziness.  Were sent out for some exploring in a nearby woods, while Mr. Michmerhuizen cooked dinner for us.  Ate dinner and spent the evening enjoying his company!  It was such a good time.  He even pulled the good old Dad-like "Nobody Touch ANYBODY!" when Tad & I were pestering Julie... =)  
Stayed the night at the Michmerhuizen home.  (The only one that felt like a real home -- the first time I've stayed overnight in a home sine Spring break.)
Saturday AM Back to Budapest for an afternoon of sitting/sleeping/reading on the rocks by the shore of the Danube at Margaret Island (Beautiful!-- An island in the middle of the Danube river between the old cities of Buda and Pest, accessible by bridge.)
Saturday PM Our Public transportation passes expired at 4:45 pm, so we got within walking distance of the Train station arund then and spent the evening wandering here and there before settling in at a coffee shop for the final 3-ish hours before our train ride to Pentrosani.
Saturday PM-Sunday AM Train ride from Budapest to Samaria, where we had a 45 minute layover in a freezing building (I wish I had pictures...you wouldn't believe the train stations in Romania -- particularly the ones in small towny places... broken windows, no heat, lights that flicker, broken chairs...Tad even found a bowler hat on the roof by climbing a broken staircase to the second floor.  Post communism is SO apparent in the train stations...no improvements since forever ago.
Sunday AM:   Home to Lupeni. 


Highlights:
1. Cody & Kait Raak!  They are just fantastic!
2.Gelato in Italia.  Zach & I managed to eat it all four days we were there, thank you very much!
3. Budapest.  I love this city!
4. Playing tele-draw in Treviso.
5. (Mom, you might not want to read this one...) Driving 150 Km/hr down an Italian Freeway belting Bon Jovi's "Its my life".
6. Time with lovely people, making new acquaintances, and seeing new places.  


Thats not so very specific, I know, but it was a wonderful trip and I'll tell you about it in person if you want more details about anything.  =) 

Apartment Lucy

Kelly tells this one better, so check out her blogpost "Morning entertainment" here: http://wwww.kellyhasablognow.blogspot.com

For now, though, here's the general jist of the story,

Apartment Lucy is home to Kelly Larsen, Julie Adams and myself for the post-homestay portion of our semester.   From our new location, 5 stories above street level, we have the delightful opportunity to enjoy some fantastic people-watching.  The balcony affords a great view across the street to the Pentecostal church and the river.  But our living-room window recently provided one of the most entertaining spectacles yet.  Take for instance yesterday…

I could not concentrate, due to a chainsaw buzzing away outside.  And so I moseyed into the living room, peered out the window and found the source of the commotion. “There’s a man in that tree,” I announced to Kelly, who was happy enough to abandon her research and join me at the window.  Because, you see, there was a man in big galoshes with an orange chainsaw on a string in the tree directly outside our window. 


A red car, parked beneath, had a large dent in the roof… perhaps this explains why the tree was undergoing demolition.  More probably, the dent was a result of the demolition. 

The man clambered around in the tree in the most precarious manner, exactly the sort of situation which a chainsaw never improves.  He cut down huge branch after huge branch using the good old “cut toward yourself instead of away” method, stabilizing himself by wedging his galoshes between branches and propping against his elbow.

The chainsaw’s string didn’t appear to be horribly helpful in keeping the process streamlined (at one point, to our consternation and peals of laughter, Man-in-tree even passed the chainsaw between his legs to untangle the string) and we were tempted to assume it superfluous...until he began to lower the chainsaw down and up, to and from his friend on the ground who was apparently heading up the safety committee and in charge of brilliant ideas, to boot (who, in turn nearly cut off his leg while messing around with the saw).  

 At one point, the chainsaw was replaced by a cigarette and the man proceeded to smoke in the tree.  He continued smoking through the next several branches.

Kelly and I soon took to yelling “Timber!” out our open window, as the branches fell, and a crowd gathered on the ground near the site of this wonderful spectacle.  Everyone seemed to be enjoying the entertainment, but none more than a little old man in a brown jacket who we have become friends with and who runs a small store just outside out apartment building.  He wandered in and out of the work zone, smoking, chatting with the Idea-man and just generally enjoying the proceedings. 

At one point the Man-in-tree got his chainsaw stuck halfway through a limb, where it stuck out horizontally.

Mr. Ideas on the ground came up with a great plan and got the attention of the chap in the tree by throwing a stick at him.

The great idea: Ideas coiled up a rope and on the second try Man-in-tree caught it. 

He then shimmied up the half-cut limb from which the chainsaw was sticking out (oh, that’s smart!) and tied the rope on some 8-feet above the saw. 

When he had slid his way back down to sawing-position, Mr. Ideas and our friend in the brown jacket strung the rope out across the yard (effectively tangling man-in-tree) and pulled, lifting the branch slightly. Success!  Man-in-tree was able to wiggle with saw loose and finish the final branches.

Sadly, the tree now stands, forlorn and branchless, a stark, ugly trunk in our yard.  But I’m glad we had the good fortune to witness the more humorous play-by-play of its demise, instead of simply returning home to the sad remains.  

We shall see what delights Apartment Lucy’s windows afford in future… =)