I took a stab at the little R2 ponch I've had planned for a while. The idea was to work on it during my marathon trani ride, but I got impatient. So, that sock I have stashed in my office continues to languish. I didn't get very far on the ponch, because the rag yarn is hard to push around on my big bamboo circs and it quickly became clear to me that the designer grossly underestimated the amount of yarn required. Well, shit. I'm going to begin on my Phildar wraparound cardigan instead (think DVF).
I bought a French textbook/workbook for immediate to advanced French speakers. It annoys the shit out of me, but I will soldier on. I need a bit of a refresher so that I don't sound like an idiot whenever I open my mouth. That's the frustrating thing about speaking a second language; you'll never have the same vocabulary or facility as you do in your mother tongue. Today, I did an exercise in which I had to describe the aftermath of a car accident. None of the juicy stuff, like the cause or circumstances of the crash, but a laundry list of injuries. I hope that there are some useful phrases deeper in the book.
My roommate moved out today. I'm a little sad. Sad that she's gone and sad that there's still a lot to be done around the apartment. Half of our lamps don't work. I have to replace several light bulbs if I don't want them taken out of my deposit, including one of those damn specialty globes that people put around mirrors. I can't get too upset about buying lightbulbs. Maybe it's just stress about moving soon. I am looking forward to my trip and not having nosebleeds all the time, but the logistics of the whole thing are a big headache.
I've got my ipod fully reloaded. I added the audio version of Bill Clinton's autobiography (abridged), intending to listen to it on the train. I'm already about half way through it. He really gets bogged down in details, but it has a very conversational tone. Maybe I wouldn't feel that way if I were reading the text instead of listening to it. I've still got several books to read on my journey: A Moveable Feast (so far, so good) Orwell's Down and Out in London and Paris (probably depressing, but classic, and not in any book club), and The Great Gatsby. I recently had a wonderful conversation with a neighbor and friend about why people shouldn't read GG in high school. It's one of those few, shimmering novels that people read during adolescence and rarely reread. What a shame. So that is how I hope to keep myself entertained for three days on a train. Three days!