marissa5687's Xanga

I'm Finally Growing

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 12:18:01 GMT

Either I’m getting bigger or the world is getting smaller. No, I’m not referring to my waist line here, although you can be sure that with bakeries on every street, it certainly hasn’t shrunk. Last night while lying in bed I realized that my feet touch the bottom. This has never been the case. The beds here in Greece, and the mattresses are shorter and smaller in general. I can’t imagine being any taller than I am and having to sleep in these beds each night. lol. It’s just the right size for me.

Another thing that’s smaller though, are the steps. The steps are so close together, not that tall, and so there are more of them to every flight of stairs. I live on the second floor (which is really the third since they count the first floor as the ground floor) and so I have three flights, two of them spiral. And I feel like I’m going to trip (and I have before) every time. Plus, your legs get tired more easily. We have these steps that we have to walk down and up everyday when we go to downtown Athens for Athens on Site or other reasons. Anywhen, they are the steps that go from our street all the way down to the old Olympic Stadium and we call them the Stairway to Hell, because it’s three initial steps and then 7 flights (74 stairs) of steps. They are a bitch to walk up everyday and half the time we debate walking all the way around just so we don’t have to walk up them. They are that bad.

Then there’s the spoon situation. Greece doesn’t have little spoons and big spoons, it has teeny tiny spoons, and gigantic can’t put your mouth around spoons. The smallest ones feel like baby spoons and the other ones are just ridiculous to try to use. lol. It’s interesting.

The cars are smaller here too. Sure they have some regular cars that are like the ones in the states, but the European cars are so tiny and box shaped. They look fun to drive around, like clown cars. And most of them are fun colors too. I would never try driving here though. The drivers are nuts!! Just crazy! Every day walking to class I put my life at danger crossing those streets. lol. That is why we must ALWAYS wait for the walking sign to come on.

So, I suppose all these things are a good thing in a way. I’ve always wanted to be bigger, or taller that is, and in Greece I often feel it. Sweeeeeeet.

So...I'm in Greece now

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 12:53:08 GMT

Hello all! It’s been a really really long time since I’ve written a new entry. This summer got a little busy I suppose. And I could spend a whole entry dedicated to what I did this summer…but I’m not going to because you know what?...I’M IN GREECE RIGHT NOW!!! That’s right people. I, Marissa Lunt, is actually fulfilling one of her lifelong dreams of going to Greece. I’ve been here studying abroad for a week now, and am trying to get settled in. This past weekend we went on a class trip to Kea (or Tzia), an island in the Cyclades. It was AMAZING! Just like I imagined any Greek island to be. But this week we are back to Athens, and we started school today.

Living in Athens is very different than America, not only with the obvious reasons though. I mean, hello, they don’t exactly speak English here, I’m aware. lol. But, it’s just so interesting. For instance:

You can’t flush things down the toilet here. You have to throw toilet paper or anything else in the trashcan, which is hard to remember. I’ve already forgotten twice, luckily, it didn’t mess up the toilet.
The Greek salads are very different. They don’t have any lettuce, as most of the salads here. Instead it’s just cucumbers, tomatoes (tomatoes are big here), green peppers, onions, olives, a huge chunk of feta cheese, and olive oil (Greeks LOVE olive oil- it’s on just about everything). They are still really good though.
Greek desserts are AMAZING!!! The bakeries are what I’m going to live off of. Bread, pastries, desserts, w/e…I’ll eat it and lots of it. J
It’s a very confined city. Very cramped and the streets and drivers are nuts! I though Chicago or Washington D.C. was crazy…but no! Athens wins. And cars park anywhere they can find- especially curbs and sidewalks.
Mostly every apartment has balconies. This I LOVE!! My apartment, specifically, has a long balcony leading from my room, to my three roommates rooms, and the kitchen. I love leaving my double doors open at night and waking up to the sound of the hustle and bustle from outside.
The nightlife is crazy! Since they have siesta time from 2:30-5 everyday where the whole city is quiet and lots of shops or cafes close, they are wide awake at night. They usually go out around 11 or so and don’t get back till 4 or 5 am. I know what you’re thinking…”wow, Marissa…that’s right up your alley”. Well, kids…Marissa is still trying to deal with the time change…lol. She’s not ready for that yet. But when you’re trying to get to sleep at night it’s still very very noisy and busy. It’s interesting.
Greeks don’t smile. Americans are generally pretty happy people. They will smile and greet you while walking down the street or entering and leaving shops. Well, Greeks don’t do that. Infact, they look at you weird if you do- you know, like you don’t belong. Which, well, I don’t…so…w/e. It’s a hard habit to stop, so they will have to deal with it.

These are just a few of the random Greek things I find interesting enough to share with you. I will talk more about my experiences/trips/school/life in Greece later. I’m sure they’ll never be a dull moment on this page this semester. But only because I’M IN GREECE and I can’t get over it yet! lol.

I Think I'll Miss You

Fri, 04 May 2007 05:52:53 GMT

Well, I take my last final in five hours. I’ll be on the road in about nine. And I won’t be back to school in Oxford until January 2008 - which is 8 months away. It’s so hard to believe. It seems so far away. I think last year I wouldn’t have even cared. In fact, I would have been really happy about it. But this year I’m sort of sad. Don’t get me wrong…I am really, really, really excited about going to Greece in the fall. But I had such a better time here at Miami my sophomore year than I did my freshman year. I finally made friends, I finally actually felt like I belonged, and I got more involved with the people and events of the theatre department. And considering how depressed I was first semester everything came together second semester and I’m truly sad about leaving this time. Here are things I’m really, really going to miss!!

Mandy and Susan!!!!- I finally made some great friends here! I love you guys! Hopefully I’ll get to make some trips to see you this summer though.
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches- not even kidding…I don’t know what it is about them but this campus makes the best pb & j ‘s I’ve ever had. I basically lived off of them this year
the Rec- Sure I’m going to run over the summer to stay in shape, but oh my…having a rec right across the street from you is perfect! And that abs, glutes, and thighs class is amazing!
Haines Food Court grilled cheese sandwiches- once again- the BEST I’ve ever had. Wheat bread…extra cheese…goodness!!
Hiestand- I spent many, many long nights in this building, specifically the design studio, with some great people. Sure, sometimes it sucked and sure the ceilings leak, and sure it’s not technically the “Theatre building” (because ours is being renovated), but still I will miss it until Jan.

I guess 8 months isn’t that long. But still…I think I’ll be happy to be coming back to Miami, even after spending three months in Greece. haha. But it’s still a while away, and first there’s summer…and with summer comes some things that I have to look forward to! Here’s a few of them.

1. Wicked the Musical

2. Bob Dylan Concert

3. Visit Mandy in Maine

4. Put In Bay

5. Christian and Kate’s Wedding

6. 7^th Harry Potter Book

7. 5^th Harry Potter Movie

8. Icky Thump by the White Stripes

I’ll miss you Miami. But my god am I glad to be going home today for 4 ½ months of summer!

What I've Been Up To

Tue, 01 May 2007 05:33:24 GMT

Sorry I’ve been sort of MIA lately. With 20 credit hours I just started to get really, really busy for the past two and a half weeks or so. Honestly, I would say that this has been my hardest/busiest semester. More so busiest- nothing in college has really been that hard. Just really time consuming-which explains my sudden drop of the face of the earth- for some people that is. Unless you’ve been online anywhere between 2-8 am every day or are in the Theatre Department with me here than I probably haven’t talked to you in a while. So, let me catch you up with some things I’ve been up to…

PAPERS- This semester I had to write 14 papers with a total of 55 pages- 8 of these were due sometime in the past two and a half weeks. This includes two 8 pagers, four 5 pagers, and two three pagers. Two were due this past Friday- for the same class.

Random Thought: I just got some pictures of my baby cousin Sophia. She is hands down one of the most beautiful baby girls I’ve ever seen. Granted I do have another new baby girl cousin, Adriana and she's also very pretty (my mom told me that she reminds her of me when I was a baby so you know that's true. haha) but I do not have any pictures of her. Sorry.

ALL NIGHTERS- Because of these papers, and all my other homework, and my design projects I have pulled at least three all nighters a week. Sometimes more. And the nights I didn’t pull all nighters I was only getting about five hours of sleep. My sleeping habits are soooo messed up right now.

Random Thought: It’s amazing how many people think that monkey is spelled “monkies” plural with “ies” instead of the correct way “monkeys” with an “eys”. I’m proud to say I’ve never been confused. haha

DESIGN PROJECT- This past week I have spent around 40 hours in the studio working on my final design scale models. Yesterday I got there around 2:00 in the afternoon and stayed until 7:30 am only leaving once I might add. Only to come back and sleep for two hours and go right back to spend another five hours until it was due. Let’s just say I’ve had enough painting to last me a while.

Random Thought: I was so unmotivated one night while writing a paper that I actually made a paper crane. Surprisingly it took a while to make- lots of folds, but impressive finished project. Sherman is currently sitting on my desk shelf. I would highly suggest making one if you’re bored.

THEATRE FUN- This past week was my Theatre Department banquet, Mutsys (where we all get together at someone’s house and the Seniors put on skits and give out silly awards), and annual party. All were pretty great actually. The party theme was F*ed Up In Fairytale Land. Me, Susan, and Katherine went as fairies. It was so much fun and we looked really good

Random Thought: Two finals down, four to go. Mom and Dad will be here on Friday morning and then I am out of here and not coming back till January. Crazyiness!

Well, as you can see I’ve been a busy little bee or beaver…I don’t really remember what the saying is. Or if that even is a saying or something I just made up. Either way, you get the gist: I’m busy, I get no sleep, finals suck, summer’s almost here!

i before e except after c

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 18:28:19 GMT

English has NEVER been my best subject. I mean, I’m not completely daft when it comes to English but I’m not brilliant either, far from actually. Maybe that’s why I don’t like English- because I’m not good at it. I was just never one of those people who cared about nouns, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, whether or not I’m putting my commas in the right places (something I was never good at), etc. Also, you know, I didn’t really have a great English teacher either, any year…There is just a lot to remember about the English language and it comes naturally to some people. But to me…I just can’t really handle it. Give me a math problem over grammar ANY day!!

My Examples:

1. That whole “i before e except after c” saying. It barely ever works!! Examples include weird, species, science, vein. You can’t make a rule like this if there are just as many words that it doesn’t work for as there are words that it does. This perturbs me!

2. The word colonel, as in military rank. It’s not pronounced anything like it is spelled. It’s pronounced like “kernel”. How does an l turn into an r??!!!! It just makes no sense whatsoever! And it always frustrated me when I came across it in school.

3. Something that I was never good at…knowing when to use “good” and when to use “well”. I still get called on this one all the time. Usually only from those people who think they are soooo smart cause they understand the English language. I don’t care if I use the wrong term. I’ll say what I want to say. If I’m not feeling good…don’t correct me…you know what I mean. You get the gist.

4. Where do the commas go? It seems like I’m always putting in a comma where it doesn’t go, or not putting in a comma where it does go. I don’t even want to know how many mistakes I’ve probably made in this entry. I don’t want to hear it.

These are just many of the examples of why I do not particularly care for our confusing English language. Did you know that supposedly it’s the hardest language to learn? And I’ve never been good with languages. (which makes me scared to take Modern Greek in Greece- although I did get an A in Ancient Greek…) But you know at the same time, maybe I’m a hypocrite because there are certain parts of the English language that really annoy me when other people mess up. You know, the things that I learned in school and actually stuck in my brain. I can really only think of two that really annoy me. (the first one more so than the second)

1. I understand the difference between “seen” and “saw”. “I saw a movie last night” as opposed to “I seen that the other day”. AH!!! I HATE when people do this!!! It’s just sooo annoying!! It doesn’t make you sound that smart… (although now I’m a total hypocrite because I bet I am really annoying to other people when I say “good” instead of “well”…sorry)

2. The word “huge” has an h at the beginning. It’s not silent…it’s at the beginning of the word…so please…PRONOUNCE it!!! It’s not “uge”…it’s “h-uge”!! (sorry mom…you know I LOVE YOU even though this is a problem you have- if you want you can call me on the good/well thing)

So, I guess I’m a hypocrite. But still…I don’t like grammer. I’m not an amazing speller. I can’t stand when you say “seen” instead of “saw”. And thank GOD for Microsoft Word to help me through my difficulties.

P.S. DO NOT leave me comments on here telling me how many mistakes I’ve made in this entry. I do not want to hear it and I will delete it.

Birthday Wishlist

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 15:51:43 GMT

It is almost 2 ½ weeks till my birthday!! and since it’s getting so close I think it’s time to make a birthday wish list! lol. Now I realize that nobody buys me presents but my parents (Love You M & D) and from what my mother tells me they are done shopping for the occasion. But no matter. I am still doing this…for my own pleasure…Just some things I wouldn’t mind having. haha

CD’s
~ The Vines- Vision Valley (this came out almost a year ago and I still don’t own it! )
~ Brendan Benson- The Alternative to Love
~ Aerosmith- O Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits

BOOKS (even though I have about four or five books from Christmas that I still haven’t read yet…oops …lots of reading to do this summer )
~ One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest- Ken Kesey
~ Breakfast at Tiffany’s- Truman Capote (It’s my favorite movie so I’m sure I’d love the book)

CLOTHES (so...I really like AE apparently cause these are from AE. lol)
Pink Eyelet Top

Purple Silk Cami

Violet Sunshine Tunic

ACCESSORIES (again with the AE)
Purple Stone Necklace

Love Shell Bracelet

Heart Ring

Play Us A Song You're The Piano Man

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 21:05:50 GMT

So, I’m sure most of you have heard by now that this past Friday, the 13^th; I attended a Billy Joel concert in Cleveland. Yes, that is right! I, Marissa Lunt, got to see BILLY FREAKING JOEL!!! Katherine, Mandy, and me left Miami around 3:30, drove to pick up mom in Mansfield, and then headed to Cleveland to see the one and only Mr. Billy Joel. The traffic outside of Cleveland was nuts! cause there was apparently not only a Billy Joel concert, but the Indians first game of the season, and a Christina Aguilera concert too. We were already running late cause of the long drive from Miami and the traffic didn’t help. Then when we got into Cleveland we couldn’t find any parking. When the valet from House of Blues kindly offered to take our car for us we asked which way to the Arena and apparently all of us misunderstood him or didn’t hear him correctly because we ended up running about two ½ blocks of so OUT OF OUR WAY!! Not cool…so then we ran back to where we started, got new directions, and ran to the right place.

We arrived to the Arena about 35 minutes late and out of breath. Luckily the concert started late so we only missed My Life (which is one of my favorites ) and another one. But it’s all good…we weren’t going to let that get our spirits down. Oh no! So, the concert was AMAZING!!!! Billy Joel sounds just as good in real life as he does on any cd. That’s pure talent. He sang (not necessarily in this order and not including the ones I don’t remember or hadn’t heard of before):

~Vienna (my absolute favorite)

~The Entertainer

~She’s Always A Woman

~Allentown

~Don’t Ask My Why

~Movin’ Out (which he dedicated to Imus)

~Big Shot (where he came out wearing a backwards cap and acting “gangsta”..very interesting..lol)

~New York State of Mind

~Innocent Man (he actually started singing Stand By Me and then he said “that’s not my song” ..”but I wish it was”. haha. and then he went right into Innocent Man. It was great!)

~River of Dreams

~You May Be Right (another one of my favorites)

~We Didn’t Start the Fire

~Still Rock and Roll To Me

Then he said goodbye and left. So, everything was dark and everyone in the Arena got out their cell phones and started waving them trying to get him to come back out for an encore. He finally did, of course. And he sang the song Mandy, K, and I had been waiting for…

~Only the Good Die Young

~Italian Restaurant

~Piano Man

He ended with Piano Man…so appropriate I know! It was an amazing!! concert! I had so much fun and I’m still in shock. The ticket price was so totally worth it and so was the T-shirt I bought. This was the best Friday the 13^th ever!!!

My Future

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:02:01 GMT

My future boyfriend will:

Sing me any one of these songs at random moments of any random day (especially the first 3)

· 500 Miles- The Proclaimers

· The Way You Look Tonight- Tony Bennett

· Have I Told You Lately That I Love You- Van Morrison

· I Wanna Grow Old With You- Adam Sandler

· You’re My Best Friend- Queen

· Why Don’t We Do It In The Road- Beatles (come on…that’s funny)

· When I’m 64- Beatles

· You’ve Got A Friend- James Taylor

· I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song- Jim Croce

pose for pictures with me and actually like to take pictures of the two of us together
stay up really late to talk to me even if he’s tired
wouldn’t mind driving the 3 ½ hours to Miami to spend time with me
not be afraid to call me at ANY time during the day (even wee hours of the morning or hours when I’m NEVER awake- like 7 am)
not be embarrassed to kiss me, cuddle, or hold my hand in public or in front of his friends
enjoy Henley gatherings and all they entail
appreciate my quirkiness

examples:

· my fascination (ok…obsessive-ness) with the color green: sure sometimes I may be a little to clad in green and look like a pea but hey buy a green shirt and we’ll be two peas in a pod. (like that did ya? K helped me with that little corny number )

· my obsessive compulsive-ness: so what if I like things symmetrical, and I can’t stand it when the sleeve of your shirt is rolled up. At least I don’t have to wash my hands twenty times every time

· so I’m a movie buff: if you think about it…it’s no so much intimidating or crazy or a waste of time as it is really cool and incredibly hot

· the fact that I giggle- almost incessantly: it’s actually pretty adorable and at least you know I’ll always laugh at your jokes

talk about me to his friends- in a good way of course
go the extra mile in trying to make me feel better when he knows I’m having a bad day

I'm A Happy Camper

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 20:31:07 GMT

What a great weekend!!! Even though I didn’t get Friday or Monday off , and I only got to be at grandma’s for six hours on Sunday, and we got stuck in traffic so it took us 4 hours and fifteen minutes to get to Miami , and I had to stay up till 6:45 am to get my model done for Design cause I couldn’t work on it over the weekend, and I’m dead tired because I decided to go home instead of stay and do homework , I had a FABULOUS weekend and getting no sleep last night and getting no sleep again tonight was totally worth going home for!!!

I mean…I got to see Amy Dahl FINALLY!!! I got to party with all the boys Friday and Saturday night. I got to see Bobby, Josh, Will, and Brandi too. I got to see Blades of Glory. I got to eat desserts!!!! YEA!!!! This weekend was just what I needed to get me out of this “work” stress I’ve been freaking out about. Granted I still have two 5 page papers next week, an 8 page paper next week, and two more 5 page papers the week after that, and then 5 final exams, 1 project, and 1 presentation the week after that. But I am not fretting about it. I’ve been in this predicament before- every semester and although it’s going to be hell I will get through it. And then summer will be here!! I am a happy camper!! Here are some other reasons (15 of course!) Marissa is happy…

I just got a new bathing suit and new tennis shoes and they are BOTH green!!
I’ve lost weight/inches and can now fit into those pants that I thought I would have to take back to the store (they are my new favorites!)
I haven’t been this in shape since the middle of summer
I just got officially accepted to Study Abroad in Greece this coming Fall
Billy Joel Concert in Cleveland this weekend
Seeing Pirates of Penzance in Cincinnati next weekend
My new job this summer and all the money I’m going to make
Because I’m studying abroad I have 4 ½ months of summer (May 4-September 20)
My birthday is in 26 days
Twila is coming home in about one month
My hair is growing out so I can finally have long hair again
White Stripes are coming out with a sixth album, Icky Thump
The 7^th and Last installment of Harry Potter comes out over summer (this is actually sort of sad too though)
My brother is getting married this summer and I get to be a bridesmaid!!
Only 4 more weeks of school

So, I’m not as stressed or sad about how studious I have to be these next few weeks if I just read over this list and think of how great everything really is!

You Are What You Teach

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 20:37:24 GMT

Today in my Anthropology class we were talking about Hominids- the earliest form of humans/primates. My professor is one of those teachers that can talk for an hour and fifty minutes (which is how long this class is) about nothing. Which isn’t good considering it’s from 8-9:50 in the morning. So, usually I don’t pay attention, but sometimes he brings in props and demonstrates things- like the time he brought in a banana and showed us just what subcircumcision is …yeah…

So, anywhen…he’s an interesting guy who’s really into what he teaches- a real Anthropologist who’s actually been places discovering things and what not. He has tons of stories. So today, I was just finishing up my sixth Sudoku puzzle when he called everyone up to the front so they could see the demonstration. He laid down a blanket, sat down, and pulled out some hand sized rocks and a leg of meat. Yes, some raw deer meat. Do I have your attention yet??

So, he began to describe to us that the meat was too tough for him to chew through with just his teeth- he demonstrated by trying. So then he showed us how hominids would make tools with rocks- as if we couldn’t grasp the description from the whole chapter about tools in our books. So, he took the cobblestone and began to hit it with the other harder rock until small pieces of flakes started to come off of it producing a sharp point. Then he used the small sharp flakes and the cobblestone to cut into the deer meat with the rocks. As soon as he got through we got a nice chunk of meat off- raw deer meat- and popped it right in his mouth. He ate the raw deer meat…right from the bone…right in class…right in front of 40 students.

And he didn’t stop there either. He then broke into the bone and ate the marrow which he described as tasting just like butter. This, he explained, was all the nutrients the hominids needed to survive and this is how they did it. No need for cooking- even though they didn’t have fire yet anyway…

Watching him do this, hitting rock to rock, ripping apart the deer leg, and chewing on the meat for minutes and minutes (apparently it’s very chewy) made me imagine him living 2 million years ago as a hominid. Apparently you are what you teach. I’m convinced he wishes he actually lived at that time and got to do that everyday instead of just every semester for a lecture.

Needless to say, I stayed awake and attentive throughout the demonstration and the rest of class.