nekare

Well, I'm heading out to England tomorrow morning! I feel... well, queasy, truth to be told. Especially as the friend I was going with (not in the same flight, but was going to take the same classes, and stuff) has been having a really rough time as of lately and is probably not going after all. Ack. But well. I'm determined to have the time of my life in any case.

Send good vibes my way, folks. :)

I've been on a sort of quest for mexicanidad for the past few weeks. Like, seriously. Since January 1st, I've eaten in 8 taco stands, being the regular kind, barbacoa tacos and al vapor tacos. I've had pozole twice (in a row). I've had enchiladas, sopa de pasta, the weird imitation yakimeshi at the sushi place around my grandma's street that fails at being even remotely japanese but is tasty and Mexican to the top by now; I've had chilaquiles and a bit of tamal and hot chocolate (hot chocolate never tastes like real hot chocolate overseas, I swear) and a bit of jericalla. If I liked tequila, I would've had a shot. If I liked mariachi, I would've gone and gotten drunk to them singing 'la bikina'.

Okay, now I'm ready to leave. XD

I went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button the other day, and I loved it. It has flaws, sure, but it was such a lovely movie, and I love seeing fantastic or sci-fi-ish premises in 'serious' movies nowadays without being judged (too much) for it. The music, and the montages, and the photography, were all beautiful, and the acting was really solid. And then, of course, the make-up department totally deserve their oscar. Because, wow, honestly - the aging and the de-aging looked incredibly real, and especially the de-aging is awe-worthy; both Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett seriously look like their 20 year old selves. o_O

British folk! How can I know which bands will be playing in Leeds or close to it for the next six months? My fellow concert-obsessed friends have already told me they'll disown me if I don't see as many bands as possible, lol. :3

I had to do some minor paperwork for Leeds today and my nerves are back with a vengeance. Apparently, a dude from school is taking the same flight as me, which is a relief, even thought I've never met him in person (I'll still latch on to him like a freaking leech, whether he wants it or not), but what isn't a relief is him not answering my e-mails regarding how he's getting from London to Leeds. I'm planning on going by bus, as it's sort of cheaper and by train I'd have to swtich from train to tube to train again with my suitcases and everything. SILLY DUDE I'VE NEVER MET. ANSWER ME, DAMNIT. I want to know if I'll have to get to the university all by my lonesome in the dark. ;____;

Er, funny cat pictures would be appreciated? Of fluffy Merlin/Arthur recs? Or SOMETHING, dunno?

Okay, so this has been everywhere as of lately and I'm starting to worry - just how cold is the UK right now? Like, will I be freezing? Is it snowing? Because while I'm taking warm clothes and stuff, I still don't own anything is built for a really cold winter - we might get some cold here, but you still go down to short-sleeved t-shirts at noon. So, er.

Also! People with experience in living at dorms! Do I have to take my own bedsheets and blankets? Sheets I can squeeze in, but blankets are out of the question, and RE: the earlier question - I don't quite fancy freezing to death in my sleep. If it were up to me I'd take even my pillow, as I've never been as comfortable with another one, but I have enought stuff to take already...

Okay. I'm leaving for England in two weeks and a half, and I'm already scared out of my mind. I'm a really apprehensive person, just making my timetable for school sends me into fits of nervousness, and now, hell, I'm really, really afraid. Like, I know it's only a semester and that I'll have a fantastic time once I'm there, but right now? uuuuuugh, fear. I've never traveled or lived on my own, and I've never been away from my family for more than a week, and I get horribly tongue-tied about speaking in English with natives (I know, I know...) and, dunno, stuff like that.

So, um, I would really appreciate tips for starting to live alone and whatnot and settling in in a different country. Stories about your first weeks in college/moving out/going abroad for long times/etc, etc would be really appreciated as well. HELP ME GET LESS NERVOUS, YOU GUYS. PLZ. ;_____;

(I just had to check my timetable and realized I'll have to look for a bazillion people to get into new classes, since I wasn't accepted in all of them or something? Didn't quite get it but I'm sort of shaking and yes I probably need therapy or something but it's a bit late for that, isn't it?)

The past two weeks felt like a slow, stressing build-up to the visa appointment yesterday, and now that it's done, and out of my hands; and having sent the application for accomadtion in Leeds, I feel sort of free, and weirdly blissfully happy, haha. I'm humming to the sountrack of Amelie, you guys, that's how happy I feel, lol. Maybe I should rewatch the movie tonight and reinforce said happiness? XD

I skipped school today, because I was still dead tired - it might have only been one day traveling, but 14 of those hours were spent in a bus, and the other ten walking a lot through the city's downtown. And only freaking half an hour was spent actually getting the visa, lol. For some bizarre reason they send all the documentation to New York (I know, what the hell?) and they'll let me know when it's ready in about 15 days. HUH. In any case, it was easy and painless and fast, for which I'm thankful.

After that, and after my stupid nervousness had abided, I quite enjoyed myself - I hadn't been to Mexico City in, uh, two years? It always surprises me how actually pretty some parts of the city can be, especially Reforma and Juarez. I found a fantastic coffe shop/design book store, and I salivated at all the pretty, pretty expensive design books, haha. That was awesome. I also drooled at the sight of a gorgeous pair of red ray bans, but they were too expensive, sob.

They're installing a line of the Metrobus in here, and I had my doubts about it (well, lots of them, because the city has been chaos since the project started), but what do you know, it's actually really fast and efficient. HUH.

European folks in my flist!

The, uh, liaison, you could say, between my Uni and Leeds University, just e-mailed me and between some other stuff (oh God the British visa I need to apply and I have to do it in Mexico City oh why, it's 7 hours by bus uuuuugh) he said I need to get this Shengen visa to move around Europe. I'd, uh, never heard about it! When I went to Europe (admitedly, eight years ago) all I had was my passport, and me and my family crossed countries quite merrily and without any fuss.

What do you European people need to get across borders? And people from other places that have backpacked or something, what did you need?

HALP?

(I'm not even sure if I'll be able to go to other countries during the semester (i.e. if I'll have the money), but I want to do it like burning, so I'm not closing that option.)

Guys. GUYS. I just heard from the University of Leeds and ZOMG THEY ACCEPTED ME! I GOT MY SEMESTER ABROAD!!! AL;SKJDF;ALJFLSDJF Six months in England, omg, YAAAAAAAAY. :DDDDD

Aaaand now I have to get a visa, find a place to live in and all those pesky things. I know the fear and nervousness and anxiousness will eventually set in, but right now? I'M JUMPING UP AND DOWN FROM HAPPINESS.

OH MAN. I'm tired. I sort of forgot I had to do a portfolio for the student exchange, and apparently the guy in charge is going to Belgium or something on Sunday and is passing through Leeds to drop the applications.

So, cue me, putting the portfolio together all afternoon long. Thankfully, UL asks for a very simple kind, just a .pdf of my work, so I just fancied it up a bit and burned it in a cd. If it'd been an ACTUAL porftolio, I would've DIED, lol. Anyway, I have to take it tomorrow to the guy's HOUSE, lol, because apparently he doesn't go to his office on weekends. SIGH.

I used watercolors yesterday for Design homework, it was so rad. XD I WAS going to scan them, but, you know, SCANNER DEATH. Or, rather, SCANNER SOFTWARE DEATH.

I finished late because I procratinated all afternoon long, haha, reading Alias which, sadly, isn't about spies, but is about a retired super hero, Jessica Jones, who turns into a private investigator and likes to say 'fuck' a lot. Brian Micheal Bendis is just a fantastic, fantastic writer, if very wordy, and Alias ended up being as good as everyone said. (Even if Secret Invasion is sort of disappointing me. Then again, Skrulls are NOT my thing. Mmm.) Matt Murdock cameos a lot. It is awesome. And Cap. And Luke Cage, already out of his tiara, lol.

AND THEN I WATCHED BONES. YAY BONES. ( Bones 4x01 - Yanks in the UK: ) I'M SO GLAD TO HAVE IT BACK, OH SHOW, NEVER LEAVE ME AGAIN. ♥

I still haven't watched Who's finale. I'm dreading it a bit, if I have to be honest. UM. In other news, I had to go to school once again to fix yet another thing with the student exchange. The paperwork has been so exhaustive and long that I BETTER get accepted. Grr.

I re-read all of my Card Captor Sakura collection last week (physical collection, mind. I only own about ten tankoubons of Tsubasa and eight of xxxHolic, but I’m only missing a few issues of CCS, which is made of awesome), seeing that I’ve been in an odd manga mood, and I decided it was time around to catch up with Clamp.

Well. I’m all caught up with Tsubasa now, ( and I am very, very confused. )

It is my firm belief that Kamui’s true power is to spread angst whenever he goes. Seriously, the boy has a gift for it. Any of the other dragons showed up and it was dandy. He does and the world goes gloomy and – GASP – Clamp starts throwing grayscale tones around. Grayscale tones of doom, I might add. o_O

Oh, and I’m also all caught up with xxxHolic. It is, as always, just charming, and it’s managed to remain mysterious and intriguing without going into the realm of wtfuckery like Tsubasa has. Huh. I love Tsubasa, but boy, does it sometimes make my head ache.