Seek The Sooth

"R" Review with Rory and Aurora

2012-02-10T17:02:00.003-05:00

Hi there! It's been a while since I've posted on here. Now that I have some more free time, I'd like to start posting more regularly. In particular, I'm eager to write more about my experience earning my Trinity College London Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CertTESOL)—wow, that's a mouthful!—in Cádiz, Spain in summer 2011. For now, I'll share this little tidbit.

I've always felt that my English "r" (International Phonetic Alphabet: [ɹ]) has sounded a little off, and I've been rather self-conscious of pronouncing words such as "girlfriend," "weird," and especially "rule." One of my favorite classes I took at the University of Florida was Spanish Phonetics. We practiced lots of tongue-twisters to improve our accent, and I found them tremendously helpful. So, I've invented my own tongue-twister to help me correct my [ɹ] problem:

"Rory Roland's really weird girlfriend Aurora Rudin regularly re-routes rural jurors to Rutgers' rear recreation room where rules and regulations regarding rural breweries are rarely re-written."

Or, in IPA, /ˈrɔː.ri.ˈrəʊ.lɪnz.ˈrɪ.li.ˈwɪərd.ˈgɜːrl.frend.ˌə.ˈrɔː.rə.ˈruː.dɪn.ˈre.gjə.lər.li.ri.ˈraʊts.ˈrɜːrl.ˈdʒɜːr.ərz.təʊ.ˈrʌt.gərz.ˌrɪər.re.kri.ˈeɪ.ʃən.ˈruːm.weər.ˈruːlz.ən.ˌre.gjə.ˈleɪ.ʃənz.ˌrə.ˈgaːr.dɪŋ.ˈrɜːrl.ˈbruː.əɹ.ˌriz.aːr.ˈreər.li.ri.ˈrɪ.tən/

When I'm alone (for example, in the car), I recite this sentence several times, until my mouth is actually a little sore. I usually end up laughing to myself. It's been helping a lot, and I'm feeling more confident with my "R"s!

Alright, maybe I'm showing off a little here with the IPA. But, hey, it's good practice using the IPA keyboard layout I've been using for Mac OS X to type with SIL International's Doulos SIL font. Both are highly recommended!

At the 18th Fall Esperanto Gathering (Part 3 of 3)

2011-11-01T18:41:00.004-04:00

Legi tiun ĉi blogaĵon en Esperanto.

[This post is the third and final part of a three-part series on my weekend at the 18th Fall Esperanto Gathering.
Here's Part 1.
Here's Part 2.]

Monday, October 10^th was the third and final day of ARE 2011. After the official close of the Gathering, I bought a copy of La Eta Princo, the Esperanto version of the famous French-language short novel, Le Petitie Prince.

La Eta Princo, (Esperanto version of Le Petite Prince)

The book itself is beautiful, with a sturdy hard cover, and color drawings from the original author. I read a bit of the original when I was studying French, but it was difficult for my intermediate-level command of the language. I read a lot better in Esperanto, and I definitely understood it better and got more out of it this time.

We chatted (still in Esperanto) on the way back to Albany, and after we had lunch, Chris and Kaitlyn left for Rochester. I spent the rest of the day playing Frisbee at the park with my friends in Albany. It felt strange to speak English, and several times I nearly blurted out words in Esperanto: “iru, iru!” (go, go!) “jen!” (over here!), “ho, ve!” (ugh, damn!), “ĉuu??” (really??), etc.

I was sad to be away from Esperantists, and apparently, my brain felt the same way.

Kaitlyn, me, and Chris at ARE 2011

At the 18th Fall Esperanto Gathering (Part 2 of 3)

2011-10-23T01:22:00.003-04:00

Legi tiun ĉi blogaĵon en Esperanto.

[This post is the second part of a three-part series on my weekend at the 18th Fall Esperanto Gathering.
Here's Part 1.
Here's Part 3.]

On Sunday, October 9th, I woke up, ate breakfast, and ran in the forest by the lake. The weather was unexpectedly warm, and the forest was beautiful. I had nearly finished my run, when I passed by the main meeting hall and saw everyone about to take the group picture. Fortunately, I arrived just before they took it.

After that, I came back to the house where we were staying, showered, and cooked a vegan lunch with my housemates. Chris also cooked delicious vegan cookies. Score!

That afternoon, Chris gave a lecture entitled “The other language problem: Why are languages dying? Does it matter?” Minority languages are dying out all over the world, as people are learning more widely spoken languages. For example, Native American languages are disappearing in favor of English. So what? Do ideas and culture get lost along with the language? What can we do about it?

Of course, as Esperantists, we all had a lot to say, so we ended up re-arranging the chairs into a circle, and discussed the topic as a group.

It was still beautiful out, and after the discussion, Normando led us on a walk through the forest, showing us different species of plants and birds. (All in Esperanto, of course – so cool!)

Our walk through the forest

That night, we played board games and card games. My favorite game was the Esperanto version of Bananagrams. If you've never played, it's like Scrabble, but much faster. Everyone plays against each other and races to build crossword grids using all their letter tiles. There are no turns—it happens all at once and it's a race to the finish.

Bananagrams in Esperanto

Another wonderful day in Esperanto-land.

At the 18th Fall Esperanto Gathering (Part 1 of 3)

2011-10-18T00:22:00.005-04:00

Legi tiun ĉi blogaĵon en Esperanto.

[This post is the first part of a three-part series on my weekend at the 18th Fall Esperanto Gathering.
Here's Part 2.
Here's Part 3.]

At the 58th National Convention of Esperanto-USA in 2010 in Washington, DC, I met a lot of friendly Esperantists. Two of them were Chris and Kaitlyn from Rochester, New York. I visited Chris in January, but aisde from that, we hadn't seen each other in a long time.

A while ago, Chris told me about the 18th Fall Esperanto Weekend, which would occur October 8th–11th 2011 in Silver Bay, New York. I now live in Albany, four or five hours away from Rochester, and on the way to Silver Bay, so the three of us decided to attend the convention together.

As a side note, the convention is officially called la Aŭtuna Renkontiĝo de Esperanto, or ARE for short. “Are” (pronounced ['a.ɾe], AH-reh) is also Esperanto for “as a group.” Esperantists seem to appreciate clever names.

Chris and Kaitlyn came to Albany on Friday, October 8th, and stayed with me overnight. We and three of my friends made a bonfire at my friend's house. It was cold out, so we enjoyed the heat of the fire. We chatted (in English – booo) [my friends here don't (yet) speak Esperanto] about various topics, including linguistics, economics, and vegetarianism.

On Saturday, we left for ARE. First, we stopped to eat lunch and to buy food at the Honest Weight Food Co-op, a cooperative grocery store in Albany. I love that place. There are tons of fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers, and also a variety of prepared vegetarian foods.

When we arrived at the convention,

The main meeting hall at ARE

there was a talk about go, a board game originally from East Asia. I've never played, and the talk seemed really interesting, but I unfortunately and embarrassingly fell asleep during it. In my own defense, I was really tired from the previous night and from driving.

After that, we payed for the convention (only $5 each, as students), and went to the house where we would be staying.

Our house at ARE

There were around thirty people in all, and about half of us were staying at that house. We cooked vegan food together (many of us were vegetarian or vegan), ate dinner, and returned to the main meeting hall.

There, Normando Fleury, president of the Quebec Esperanto Society and organizer of the convention led some ice-breakers. First, we split up into small groups, and introduced ourselves to our group. Each of us chose a color from a list, and explained to the other members why he chose that one.

Everyone chose a color, and explained to the other group members why he chose that one.

Next, we sat in a large circle, and everyone presented himself to the whole group, saying his name, where he comes from, and three words to describe himself. I chose the words “thought,” “learning,” and “cooking.” There was a variety of responses, many interesting and thought-provoking, and several funny ones, for example, “I don't know.”

Finally, we each received a small paper that said “Ĉu vi…” (“Do you…” in Esperanto) and wrote a yes-no question on it. Normando collected the papers, mixed them, and passed them out again. Then, everyone read his new question, and everybody either stood to reply “yes” or sat to reply “no.” Again, there was a variety of responses, but the one I most clearly remember is “Do you speak Esperanto with your pet?” I stood up for that one.

I really enjoyed the ice-breakers. In my opinion, Normando organized them very well, and they were especially well-suited for this kind of language gathering. If/when I teach English as a foreign language, I'll definitely borrow his ideas.

After that, we returned to our house, and played Dixit, a card game which I actually played for the first time in Esperanto, at the Summer Esperanto Study run by the Esperanto website lernu! in Slovakia in 2009.

The first day of the convention was great, and I fell asleep smiling, happy to be among Esperantists again.

My name badge for ARE

Remember Yesterday, Plan for Tomorrow, Live Today

2011-09-19T09:31:00.000-04:00

Today may be just an ordinary day for the Universe, but for me, it's very special. Twenty-two years ago today, I entered the world.

Life is a precious gift, and I feel I have a duty to enjoy it, preserve it, and share it with others. Every day holds something new to be appreciated and something new to be learned, and today is no exception.

In the days before Hurricane Irene hit New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg held several press conferences. After his announcements in English, he took a moment to summarize everything in Spanish. His accent is pretty bad, and he makes a lot of errors, but he gets his point across. I give him a lot of credit for trying to learn, and for getting up in front of the camera and speaking.

Several Soothing Seeth

2011-08-22T16:27:00.003-04:00

[Previous Post: TYLE: The Last Mile]

Blog-worthy experiences have been occurring much faster than I can write about. As awesome as that is, I'm glad to finally have a bit of quiet time at home, and I'm really looking forward to sorting through photos, recording memories, sharing experiences, and reflecting on lessons learned.

I returned home from Spain to Albany a little over two weeks ago, on Sunday, August 7th, and rather promptly flew to South Florida for a week to visit my mom, grandmother, aunts and uncles, cousins, and friends. My brother Jesse also came down from Connecticut, and we had a wonderful time.

We arrived on Wednesday, August 10th and immediately met our mom for dinner at Sublime, an entirely vegan restaurant and bar in Fort Lauderdale. In contrast to my vegetarian ways, Jesse is a "meat-and-potatoes" kind of guy, but he thoroughly enjoyed the food. Veggies: 1; Carnivores: 0.

On Friday, August 12th, we went to Rapids Water Park for some relief from the heat. That night, Jesse and I visited my aunt and uncle in Miami for delicious food (including vegetarian items for me), fine wine, and great music. I brought my trumpet with me, and my uncle (on sax) and I jammed out to jazzy beats from his electric keyboard. I didn't have my trumpet in Spain, so my "chops" were a little out of shape, but we both played well, and had a lot of fun.

Just under year ago, I bought an annual pass to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure in Orlando. It pays for itself after three visits, and I had only been twice, so I was dying to go a third time. My friend Heidi lives in Orlando, and, fortunately, she was able to go with me, even if only for a few hours.

On Monday, August 15th, I left my mom's around 1pm for a three-hour trip, and drove straight to Orlando Watersports Complex for an hour of wakeboarding. I hadn't been in a long time, and I really enjoyed the thrill of skidding across the water, as well as the intense upper-body workout.

Heidi and I met at WWoHP just after 6pm (parking is much cheaper after 6), and we stayed until they closed at 10pm. The only word I can use to describe it is…"magical."


Hogwarts Caste, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Orlando, FL

My last day in Florida was Wednesday, August 17th, and I spent it with my friend Lindsey, whom I hadn't seen for eight months. After catching up over lunch at Panera Bread, we went back to her house for a bit.

Lindsey and Me, August 2011

I play the piano. Quite well, I'm told. I can't play any "real" songs though; I usually just sit down, pick some chords, and see what happens.

There's a piano in Lindsey's living room. It's a bit out of tune, and its cracked, chipped keys reveal its age. But for some reason, when I sit down at that piano (I've played it on several occasions), a whole lot happens. Melodies come out that I've never played before. Powerful variations on familiar chords seem to appear out of thin air. I lose myself in the music, and forget where and when I am. I'm a rather scientific and down-to-earth person, but somehow, I feel that piano has a soul.

That evening, I came back to Albany. The next day, Thursday, August 18th, my friends Scott, Kipp, and I went to the Altamont Fair, which comes into town every year just down the street from home. I went nearly every year as a kid, and going back brought up fond memories.

This weekend, my dad and I cleaned out the house and had a big garage sale. I'm not terribly artistic, but I tried my hand at some posters to advertize. I was quite happy with the results.

Garage Sale Poster, August 2011

We did pretty well at the garage sale, and cleared up a lot of room at home.

On Saturday night, my room was a mess, I was exhausted from a whirlwind of traveling, and I found myself in a bad mood. I happened to have the movie Up, which had arrived a few days before from Netflix. I popped it into my laptop, and watched with the doors closed, the lights off, and my headphones on. I laughed louder and cried harder than I ever had during a movie, and felt like a new person when it was over.

This is known as "self-soothing" in Dialectical Behavior Therapy, a system incorporating elements of mindfulness and acceptance from Buddhist meditative practice to help persons struggling with mood disorders, and, in my opinion, is applicable to and useful for everyone.

Yesterday, my dad and his girlfriend Rena brought Scott and me to see the play West Side Story. I'm not really a theater person, but I did enjoy the show. The plot was a little slow for my taste, but I really liked the dancing and the live orchestra. Afterwards, they treated us to dinner at a Thai restaurant with a wide selection of vegetarian options.

This week, I'm happy to have time to relax and plan for the short- and medium-length-term future. I've got some good stuff in store, and I'm really excited for the next several months of my life.

Mr. Harry The Piano plays the Harry Potter Piano Theme in "every style known to man." (Via Jordon Kalilich)

Very cool video: Doodling in Math Class: Squiggle Inception "A squiggle within a squiggle within a squiggle." (Via Marcy Rosenbaum)

TYLE: The Last Mile

2011-08-11T11:25:00.001-04:00

[Previous Post: Here, There and In Vejer]

[Next Post: Several Soothing Seeth]

I woke up on Monday, August 1st slightly groggy from a weekend of partying, fun, and travel, and surprised my roommates with a traditional American breakfast of egg and cheese sandwiches. They raised their eyebrows at the ketchup I squirted on top, but once they tried it, they admitted it was tasty.

Coffee has never been my thing, but Spanish coffee is actually really good, and I developed a taste (and even a slight dependency) for it during my stay. One of my students (on the program, we co-taught English classes to groups of Spanish students) was from Colombia, and she had given me some Colombian coffee as a gift. I made it for the first time that morning, and it was even better and stronger than the Spanish stuff. Mmm.

Today was the first day of our three-day extension course on teaching young learners English (TYLE). It was a much lighter schedule (9:30AM–2:45PM) than we'd had on the TESOL course (9:30AM–7:00PM, with a lunch break), meaning we'd have the afternoon to ourselves.

After class, we received our grades: I was thrilled to pass with a B.

Trinity Certificate in TESOL

My roommates and I went home to cook lunch after picking up some vegetables at the bustling farmers' market that opened daily directly in front of our school. Antonio played guitar and sang while we prepared a vegetable paella with some vegetarian side dishes, then ate on the rooftop terrace as usual.

Vegetable paella on our rooftop terrace

After that, we went to the beach to enjoy the evening sun and the refreshingly cool water.

Tuesday, August 2nd was the second day of the TYLE course. In addition to observing videos of teachers and discussing textbooks and methodology, we did a role-play activity. Each student was given a role card, explaining that he was a seven-year-old student in an English class, and had a unique special feature. For example, one student's feature was to constantly ask to go to the bathroom, another's was to always shout out the answers, and another's was to repeatedly ask to change seats.

We were taught a mock lesson, acting out our roles, and trying to figure out what everyone else's feature was. At the end of the activity, we discussed the strategies the teacher had used to manage the classroom. It was a lot of fun, and very informative.

After class, I met with our program's career advisor to talk about my plans for after the course. I knew I wanted to teach somewhere in Spain, but I didn't want to stay in Cadiz. The sun and the beach are nice, but I don't do well with heat, and I prefer mountains and greenery. Also, Cadiz is a small, rather quiet city with the nearest airport an hour away, making it difficult to travel around.

For these reasons, my career advisor suggested Bilbao, a large city located in the Basque Country of northern Spain.

And so, that evening I planned an impromptu trip to Bilbao for the weekend. I searched around on Kayak, and found a surprisingly reasonable fare for Friday morning from two-hour away Seville, meaning I would leave Cadiz Thursday evening and spend the night in a hotel. (See, the airport thing is inconvenient.) It was then that I realized tomorrow would be my last full day in Cadiz.

Here, There and In Vejer

2011-08-08T19:11:00.013-04:00

[Previous Post: Certifiably Certified]

[Next Post: TYLE: The Last Mile]

Despite a few logistical mishaps, I have safely arrived home!

After an eight-hour flight from Madrid, I arrived in Newark, NJ around 4PM yesterday, Sunday, August 7th. At the customs office, I was informed that my bag had not made it over the pond. At the terminal, I was informed that my connecting flight was delayed until 11PM. Fed up with air travel, I decided to take a train to Albany, and arrived home around 10PM.

Having travelled for over twenty-four hours, I had hoped to sleep well last night. I set my alarm for noon, but woke up this morning at 6AM. That's noon Spain time. I guess that's what they call jet-lag.

Anyway, I slept a few more hours, and then picked up my bag, which fortunately arrived in Albany earlier today. Things are quickly returning to normal, and I'm glad to be home.

Now, where did we leave off. Ah, yes, I had just completed my TESOL course (full story coming soon), and I was enjoying my time off.

The students in my program (fourteen of us, including me) had come from many different places, including the United Kingdom, Greece, Poland, and Australia. On Sunday, July 31st, several of us visited our English classmate Alice and her Spanish boyfriend Juan in Vejer de la Frontera, a small hilltop town a two-hour's bus ride from Cadiz.

Vejer de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain

Our escorts took us to a quaint restaurant/bar, where the menu included good vegetarian 'tapas' (Spanish appetizers, commonly served at bars), and delicious mojito(e)s.

Classmates and Friends in Vejer de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain
From left: Jakcy(USA) Esme (Wales), Me(USA), Alice(England), Juan(Spain), Matthew(Poland), Daphne(Greece)

We then drove down to the hill to the beach, where we met our American classmate Jenny and her Spanish husband Fernando (there must be something about those Spanish guys…) and enjoyed the sun and the refreshingly cool ocean.

Me and Jenny, one of two other Americans in the TESOL program

That night, my Welsh classmate Esme's brother and his girlfriend arrived to visit her for a few days. My 'gaditano' (Cadiz-dwelling) friend Antonio took us all to a restaurant with both creative vegetarian dishes and traditional Spanish favo(u)rites. In addition to being really nice and a great friend, Antonio was handy to have as a tour guide: he marked on a map some of the best sights for Esme's visitors.

I had thoroughly enjoyed my weekend off, and felt refreshed and ready to take on the three-day young learners extension course, which would begin the following day. (Full story coming soon)

"Smart cards," credit cards with an imbedded microchip for extra security, are increasingly common in Europe. Most American cards rely on magnetic-strip technology, and don't have an imbedded microchip, which can cause problems for American travelers. My re-loadable Cash Passport came in handy a couple of times in Spain when my regular card didn't work.

The plural of 'octopus'. Is it 'octopuses'? 'Octopi'? 'Octopodes'!? Find out more in this video from Meriam-Webster Online. [Via Scott Giminiani]

Certifiably Certified

2011-07-30T19:28:00.004-04:00

[Previous Post: Not Your Garden-Variety Gardens]

[Next Post: Here, There and In Vejer]

Hi there!

Well, it's certainly been a while. The last five weeks have been among the busiest of my life. Between clases, projects, lesson plans, and teaching, it's been tough to balance everything. But all my hard work has paid off. My program ended on Thursday, and, assuming I passed all my exams (a fairly safe assumption), I now hold a Trinity Certificate in TESOL! [Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages!]

After so much work, it feels odd to have free time, and I don't quite know what to do with myself. For starters, my classmates and I went to a 'discoteca' (dance club) on Thursday night. We got there around 1AM, and were surprised to find the place empty. We had a few drinks and enjoyed the music nonetheless, dancing on our own until people started flocking in around 3AM. When we left at 5:30, it was still packed. How do they do it?

Last night, we went to a bar for some great music: a Rubenesque woman emphatically singing what I understand to be traditional music local to Cadiz, accompanied by an acoustic guitar, and a lively crowd singing along.

Next week, I'm doing a three-day extension course on how to teach English to young learners (ages 4-11). It'll be a much lighter schedule, which is a relief. Then a week from tomorrow, I'll come back to the good ol' USofA. I've had a great experience here, but I'm really missing home, and I can't wait to re-connect with family, friends, familiar places, and pets.

I haven't thought much about my plans after that, but at the moment, I have a bigger falafel to fry: enjoying my time off!

New York approves marriage equality! A monumental step forward in the march for justice and respect for all human beings.

The projects I've had for my program have required dozens of sections with headings, sub-headings, and sub-sub-headings. WYSIWYG word processors like Microsoft Word or LibreOffice (my personal preference) just weren't doing it for me, so I decided to use LaTeX. TextMate — "the missing editor for Mac OS X" made my life much easier, with its intuitive, color-coded interface and extensive keyboard shortcuts.

Not Your Garden-Variety Gardens

2011-07-01T12:10:00.004-04:00

[Previous Post: ¡Bienvenidos a España!]

[Next Post: Certifiably Certified]

When Jordon and I were in Europe two years ago, he met up with his friend Laura in Seville. Unfortunately, I was unable to join him on that part of our adventure, so when I awoke on Thursday, June 23rd, I was excited to head out and meet her. As Jordon later commented, "this pretty much completes our European trip."

We'd planned to meet at the Seville Cathedral (Spanish: Catedral de Santa María de la Sede), which is the largest Gothic cathedral, and the third-largest church in the world.^[1]

Laura and I had never met before, so neither of us knew who/what to look for. I didn't yet have a cell phone, so I wouldn't even know what to do if I couldn't find her. (How on Earth did people survive before cell phones??)

She eventually found me, and greeted me in English. I responded in Spanish, which became the working language for the next few hours. We were both quite hungry, so she took me to a bustling local bar/café.

I got another chicken sandwich (I feel so guilty...going to defer this again, I promise I'll explain at some point) and at Laura's recommendation, ordered a tinto con limón (red wine and lemonade). It was delicious, and has become my new favorite drink. I also tried gazpacho for the first time. I'm not a fan. It was cold, spicy, and disagreeably bitter.

After we ate, she took me to the Royal Alcázar of Seville (Spanish: Reales Alcázares de Sevilla). The site was initially a Roman settlement, and when the Arabs conquered Seville in 712, it was converted into a palace-fortress.^[2]

Laura studies architecture in school, so she taught me about the different styles, and gave me a crash course in Spanish history. It was quite hot, but a refreshing breeze ran through the palace's immense hallways, so we weren't too uncomfortable.

The palace was incredible, and its enormous accompanying gardens were breath-taking.

My favorite part of our visit to the palace was the labyrinth: a colossal web of narrow walkways walled with towering hedges snaking around the center of the gardens. For you Harry Potter fans out there, it was totally like the third task in Goblet of Fire. Yeahh.

We got our fill of the palace, then cooled off with some ice cream. It was only my second day in Spain, and speaking Spanish was wearing me out, so I reverted to my mother tongue for a while. Laura seemed anxious to practice her English anyway, so it was good for both of us.

I'd worked up an apetite exploring the palace, and wasn't sated by our ice cream, so she took me to a nearby tapas bar. We ordered more tinto con limón, and I tried swordfish for the first time. (I knowwww... I'm a horrible person.) It was tasty, but my ethical uneasiness detracted a bit from the experience.

After a great day together, Laura and I parted ways. By the time I returned to my hotel, showered and played some piano, I was hungry again. Determined to find a vegetarian meal, I approached a promising-looking restaurant just down the block.

The tomato slices topped with a hunk of cheese weren't bad, but the creamed spinach with garbanzo beans was quite disappointing. The salad with Russian dressing wasn't great either. Spanish food is nothing like Latin food, and I definitely prefer the latter.

Packing up at my hotel, I turned on the TV, and was surprised to see Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, dubbed in Spanish. I chuckled to myself, then flipped through a few other channels: news, sports, and American programs were about it. One channel at least had something good: a concert of classical Spanish guitar music, which was quite nice.

Making sure to set my alarms, I settled in to bed, content, but slightly nervous; tomorrow I would travel to Cadiz, where my TESOL^* program would begin on Monday.

^[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seville_Cathedral
^[2]http://www.seville-traveller.com/alcazar-seville.html
^*Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

¡Bienvenidos a España!

2011-06-23T21:12:00.005-04:00

[Next Post: Not Your Garden-Variety Gardens]

My last few hours in the US were spent at Chipotle with my friends. Mmm, Chipotle. I departed from the Albany airport at 5PM on Tuesday, June 21st, and after a connection in Newark, I set out for Madrid.

I wasn't able to sleep on the plane, so I watched Meet The Robinsons on my individual TV. Each movie was free and available with either English or Spanish audio. (I chose the Spanish audio, of course.)

I impressed myself by keeping up with the Spanish, and I even got a little teary at the end. (It's one of those feel-good kids movies…don't judge.)

It was comically easy to get through customs. After waiting in a short line, I greeted a bored-looking security agent with, "buenos días." He looked at my passport, looked at me, then waved me on. Nobody asked me any questions or even looked at my bag.

Although I wanted to check out Madrid, I was tired, and weighed down by my luggage, so I decided to head right to Seville. This turned out to be a very good decision.

With some difficulty, I asked around and found the train ticket office. I had looked up the schedule, so I knew which train to take. But there was one problem: this weekend is Corpus Christi, a major Christian holiday, so there were very few trains to Seville. Fortunately, there was one leaving soon, and I managed to get a seat.

On the train, I chatted with the woman sitting next to me, and confirmed that Seville was the last stop. I asked her to wake me when we arrived, then slept the whole way.

From the train station, I took a taxi to my hotel. I had asked at the station how much to expect to pay, and the driver's offer seemed reasonable. He dropped me off down the block from my hotel. (it's on a very small street inaccessible by car).

I paid him, along with a small tip. He smiled and thanked me. (I later found out that tipping is not customary in Spain.)

My hotel is music-themed, with various instruments displayed in the lobby. My room has a comfortable bed, a microwave, and my own bathroom. There's even a little stereo and a few CDs with classical music. Oh, and a piano just down the hall.

I showered, then set out for a meal. The receptionist had recommended a vegetarian-friendly restaurant, but when I got there, it was closed. Many places here are open in the morning, closed from around 4PM to 8PM, then open again until two or three.

I ended up eating vegetable paella at a small bar. (Paella is a very popular Spanish dish containing rice, spices, and usually seafood.)

The vegetables weren't very fresh, but I was starving, so I didn't mind.

Back at my hotel, I discovered the rooftop patio. I grabbed my sunglasses, my iPod, and the latest publication of Redes Para la Ciencia ('Science Networks'), and relaxed in the evening sun.

After that, I came back to my room, got on the free Wi-Fi with my MacBook, and looked for something to do. I wasn't finding much, so, after some hesitation, I put on decent clothing, and took to the streets.

Most of the streets here are cobblestone, just wide enough for a one-way car lane and a sidewalk, and well-lit at night. Following the sounds of people chatting and laughing, I found my way to busy plaza.

A bit nervous speaking in Spanish, I asked some young-looking people to recommended a nearby local bar. They pointed me to a small place, brimming with lively Sevillians, and devoid of tourists.

Here, I asked more young-looking people what to eat, and how to order. They amicably welcomed me to their table, and we chatted for a while over beer and chicken sandwiches. (Non-vegetarian, I know…. I'll explain in a future post.)

I was jet-lagged and my brain was pretty fried from speaking Spanish all day, so I headed home 'early' (around 1AM) and fell right asleep.

Mama G: No Longer In the House

2011-06-21T12:48:00.001-04:00

Albany, New York has been my comfortable home for the last six months. I've had lots of fun times, and it's been great to reconnect with friends and family here. (Astute readers will recall that I grew up in Albany, attended the University of Florida, and returned to my hometown in December 2010.)

Reflecting on the last half-year, I feel I'm very much a different person from who I was when I arrived. I've gained much self-confidence, become more independent, and felt happier and more connected than I ever have in my life.

A significant part of my development here has been my job at Gertrude Hawk Chocolates. (Gertrude Hawk, a.k.a. 'Mama G' was a real person. She founded the company in 1936, and her grandson still helps run it.)

The 'chocolateer'-ing part was easy; I had worked at a chocolate store for a bit in high school, so my confectionary skills were already pretty sharp.

However, as a natural introvert, I struggled a lot with customer service. (Am I saying the right things? Why does the customer suddenly look so uncomfortable? Ahh what am I doing wrong??) Okay, breathe. You'll get through this.

It wasn't easy, but I did get through it, and ended up a better person. My perseverance, patience, and 'people skills' have improved a lot, and as I continue to cultivate these abilities, I will gain access more and more exciting opportunities.

Today, I will embark on my six-week adventure in Spain. Afterwards, I'll be back here for a bit, and then, who knows?

The sadness I feel about leaving is only a reflection of how happy I've been here.

A Phonological Note

2011-06-18T14:14:00.000-04:00

A phonological note is in order regarding my last post, entitled 'Cadiz, Please'. When naming a foreign place (or, more generally, when using a foreign word), one usually adapts its pronunciation to whichever language one is speaking.

So, for example, if my Canadian friend is telling me about her recent recent trip to Montreal, she'll probably pronounce it [mʌn.tʃɹi.'ɔːl] 'mun-tree-AWL'. If I'm trying to impress her, I might spell it Montréal, and use the French pronunciation [mɔ̃.ʁe.'al] 'mohn-rhe-AL'. But that just sounds silly.

Similary, I'll be staying in Cadiz, [kə.'diːz] 'kuh-DEEZ', but spelling it Cádiz, pronounced ['ka.ðiθ] 'KAH-theeth'. The locals might make fun of me though; they'll be pronouncing it ['ka.ðis] 'KAH-thees.

Oh, and one more thing: 'España' is pronounced [es.'pa.ɲa], not [eθ.'pa.ɲa]. Just a little pet peeve. (WIkipedia explains this phenomenon pretty well.)

Who still uses snail mail? Well, I sometimes do. If you opt for delivery confirmation, here's a simple way to check the status of your parcel: run a Google search for the twenty-digit confirmation number. The first link will take you right to the tracking page.

One thing that's always bothered me about Mac OS X: the green plus button. You expect it to maximize windows and apps like your old PC used to do, but it simply doesn't cooperate. RightZoom does the trick. This lightweight app runs in the background, and makes this belligerent button do what makes sense: maximize the window. (via Switching To Mac)

Cadiz, Please

2011-06-12T14:12:00.001-04:00

When I began documenting my sooth-seeking in March 2010, I was planning a trip to Spain. I hoped this blog would be a good way to remember my experiences and to share them with others.

Unfortunately, I didn't end up going to Spain that summer. I have since traveled to many other places, though, so I've grown accustomed to documenting my adventures.

Now, at long last, I will embark on my Spanish journey: six weeks in sunny, historic Cadiz. I won't be vacationing, though; I'll be taking courses to complete a TESOL [Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages] certificate through Trinity College, London. The certificate is recognized internationally, so I'll be able to teach wherever I want. Spain is an obvious first choice, but France and Russia are also on my wish list.

Words fail me to describe my excitement. I have studied Spanish for over ten years, but have had little opportunity to use it. Sure, I'll read an occasional article from El País ('The Country', a well-known Spanish newspaper) or watch an episode of Redes para la Ciencia ('Science Networks', a Spanish TV program akin to the Discover Channel), but I have limited experience actually speaking the language.

In fact, I've only ever spoken with bilingual Spanish-English speakers. Never have I needed to speak Spanish to get by.

Nonetheless, I feel confident in my ability to speak. All the necessary tools (vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation) are in place, and I simply need an arena in which to flourish. It has been so intellectually frustrating to know that I have this ability, but to have limited opportunity to exercise it.

I've been planning this trip since March, and I leave in a little over a week. I have lots of emotions about leaving Albany, my comfortable home for the last six months. But that's outside the scope of this post.

Seek The Sooth goes global in just nine days. Stay tuned!

GQueues is a free online task manager (or $25/year for extra features). The interface is simple and intuitive, and you can log in with your Google account. Definitely helps me stay organized.

Wordreference is an invaluable online language dictionary and forum. It includes translations to and from fifteen different languages, and verb conjugators for Spanish, French, and Italian. The forums contain a wealth of information about idiomatic expressions and word usage.

Goodbye Seattle

2011-06-02T09:53:00.000-04:00

This is the third part of a three-part series on my recent trip to Seattle. Check out Part One and Part Two.

On Thursday, May 26th, I woke up around noon. After a light breakfast, I went for a refreshing workout at the rooftop fitness center in Jordon's temporary apartment building. I had been enjoying a few more desserts and beverages than usual lately, and it felt good to burn off some extra Calories.

When I returned to the apartment Kate told me that Jordon was out at Pike Place Market again. I showered, grabbed a quick snack, and headed out to meet him.

Seattle's street grid is pretty easy to navigate, and I already knew how to find Pike Place, so I took my time and enjoyed the walk. One hears that Seattle is perpetually windy and rainy,

but today was pleasantly calm and sunny. I meandered down the hilly streets toward the Market, snacking on yummy gouda cheese, local artisan bread, and a fresh peach I had bought the day before.

Jordon and I met at the apparently famous Fish Market, where we observed the apparently famous process of someone ordering a whole fish to be wrapped up: A man in fisherman's rubber boots and overalls (known as 'waders') lifted a large beheaded fish, and began chanting with his fellow fishmongers. He hurled the beast through the air, and a man behind the counter deftly caught it with a large sheet of thick paper. I clapped with the rest of the crowd, somewhere between nauseated and amused.

After exploring the Market some more, we opted for a fish-free lunch at a small Indian food stand. On our way back to the apartment, Jordon snapped the obligatory picture of me in front of the original Starbucks.

Notice Mr. Creeper on the left, totally checking me out…haha

That night chez Jordon, we sat around talking and joking about everything at once, and nothing in particular. Jordon and Kate went on Yelp and reviewed some of the restaurants we'd been to, and I caught up with my friends back in Albany.

Our friend Mark had invited me out again, and although it was getting late, I'd so enjoyed the previous night's dancing that I decided to go. Tonight's club was hosting 80s night, and although I wasn't very familiar with the music (which apparently makes me a culturally deprived gay man), I really enjoyed the beat.

Returning to Jordon's before too late, I showered, packed up, and slept a few hours before my late morning flight.

Friday morning, Jordon walked me to the train station. We said our goodbyes and see-you-soons, and I began my long journey back home.

It was a wonderful trip with many enjoyable experiences. The only thing I regret is that I didn't make it to the Space Needle (although I was very close to it on several occasions). I'm sure I'll hit it next time—there will certainly be a next time!

Seattle Day 2

2011-06-01T11:53:00.003-04:00

This is the second part of a three-part series on my recent trip to Seattle. Check out Part One. Part Three coming soon!

On the morning of Wednesday, May 25th, I made everyone French toast for breakfast. I had brought real maple syrup from New York as a gift, and it was big hit.

After breakfast, Jordon and I did a little Russian lesson with Kate. Jordon has an audio course on CD, and we listened while Kate helped us.

It was raining today, so we wanted to do something indoors. First, we visited the Seattle aquarium. There were lots of cute fishes, but the clown fish were my favorite.

Marlin and Nemo! Next, we stopped for lunch at a quaint local diner. We each got something we liked: chicken soup for Kate, steak and eggs for Jordon, salad and asparagus soup for me.

Our last tourist activity for the day was the Pacific Science Center. We arrived just in time for an IMAX movie on volcanoes. It looked really interesting, but, unfortunately, Jordon alone enjoyed it; Kate and I slept through the whole thing. (We were both really tired.)

The rest of the exhibits were pretty exciting: we explored the butterfly garden, and lots of interactive activities about the human body.

After that, we stopped at a camera store. Kate needed some equipment for her hi-tech-looking camera, and I bought a memory card reader for my low-tech-looking camera.

I've been using Google's Picasa software to manage my photos (love it), but it hasn't been playing nicely with my camera. The card reader did the trick, and now uploading photos is easier than ever.

The guy at the camera store was really helpful. I have a Canon Powershot SD790 IS, which is apparently a fairly nice camera. I had no idea, and I guess I've been using it all wrong. He showed me a few tricks, and now my pictures are now coming out much clearer and crisper. Thanks, guy at the camera store!

We parted ways at this point: Jordon and Kate retired to the apartment, while I went to check out Seattle's vibrant gay nightlife with out friend Mark. I was surprised and pleased at how many people were out on a Wednesday night.

I've always been a self-conscious dancer, but I'm getting much more comfortable lately. Now, all it takes is good music and a few drinks, and I'm having a great time!

Returning home after a late night, I feel asleep with a smile on my face.

Hello Seattle

2011-05-30T00:12:00.003-04:00

This is the first part of a three-part series on my recent trip to Seattle. Parts two and three coming soon!

My friend and old college roommate Jordon recently moved to Seattle to work for Amazon. (Quite recently, in fact—one week ago as of today!) I'd only seen him once since I moved to Albany in December, and I was excited to help him 'seattle' into his new home. Our Russian friend Kate was also in Seattle, and I was anxious to see her as well.

Jordon, Kate, and I met in 2009, at the Summer Esperanto Study in Slovakia. I would tell you to 'Czech' out Jordon's detailed account of our travels (including meeting Kate at SES), but as of 1993, Czech Republic and Slovkia are separate countries. Alas…

Aaanyway, back to my trip to Seattle. I decided to go rather spontaneously—about a week before I planned to leave—so it was tough to find a reasonable fare. Kayak was a helpful site, and I managed to find something decent after scouring many major airlines' websites.

I left Albany on Tuesday, May 24 at 6:30AM, Albany time, and arrived in Seattle at 11:00AM, Seattle time. 7½ hours in total, so not too bad. Jordon met me at the airport, and we took a train back to his temporary apartment. It was a comfortable one-bedroom with a cozy living room, a full kitchen, and the feel of a fancy hotel suite.

After I showered and relaxed a bit, the three of us set out to explore. For $59, the Seattle CityPass got us into six major Seattle attractions. We each picked up a pass, and started with a scenic boat ride around Elliot Bay, which included a nice view of the Seattle skyline and Mount Rainier.

After the boat ride, we made our way to Pike Place Market, where we bought some fresh local produce, among other things.

Jordon had two appointments later to check out potential apartments, and Kate and I planned to join him. But first, we stopped in a grassy seaside park for some group photos. Many of them were quite silly, but we got a few nice ones, too.

After apartment-hunting, we had dinner with our friend Mark who also recently moved to Seattle, now working for Microsoft. Four friends from four different places—Mark, from Central Florida; Jordon, from South Florida; Andy, from Albany, New York; and Kate, from St. Petersburg, Russia—all met only a few years ago, and now gathered in a new place, enjoying time together.

Exhausted from the day's activities, we made our way home and went to sleep for the night.

Mindful Procrastination

2011-04-11T03:37:00.003-04:00

Things have been pretty busy here. Business at the chocolate store is picking up for Easter, and I'm preparing for my graduation from University of Florida (less than three weeks away!). In my spare time, I've been playing racquetball, practicing trumpet, and enjoying my subscription to Netflix.

It seems that for every item I cross off my To-Do List, I add two more. There just aren't enough hours in the day to accomplish everything I'd like to. My yoga instructor shared something with us last week that's been helpful.

"Do not allow thoughts of other times and places to spoil your experience of the present moment. Trust that whatever is waiting for you will still be there later."

Easier said than done. But as with anything else, it's a habit that will get stronger with practice.

Sick of spending too much on electronics accessories? Check out Monoprice. I recently bought a Mini-DVI to DVI adapter for my MacBook for $4.66 (Best Buy wanted to charge me $16.99).

How about all that change accumulating in your penny jar? Learn how to carry a certain combination of coins so that you can make any amount from 1 to 99 cents with as few coins as possible. (Via The World of Stuff)

Happy Birthday, Seek The Sooth!

2011-03-10T16:09:00.003-05:00

This week marks one year since I started blogging. Many seeth have been uncovered since then, and today, I would like to share some of them with you. Enjoy!

* * *

When I graduated from high school in 2007, I was in pretty good shape --
5'10" tall, and 155 lbs. (Mouse-over units in purple for metric equivalents.) I expected to gain a bit of weight in college. Classes, studying, and new social opportunities would mean less time to focus on diet and exercise.

I gained the Freshman 15, but also the Sophomore 15, and the Junior 15. By the beginning of my senior year, in August 2010, I stood at 5'11", and weighed 205 lbs. I hadn't exercised in a long time, and I felt out of shape and self-conscious.

The gym on campus offers a free fitness assessment each semester. Not only was I unhappy with my appearance, but my test also suggested that I'd have to worry about potential health problems if my weight gain continued.

According to the BBC, a healthy rate of weight loss is 1 lb to 2 lbs per week. My goal was to shed 40 lbs, so that would take at least 20 weeks, which worked out to right around the new year.

My first step was to hire a personal trainer. Beginning in the Fall, we worked out twice a week, lifting weights. We were a good match; I wanted to work hard, and he knew how to challenge me. He never pushed me too hard, though, and was always respectful of my abilities and limits.

I also began running on the treadmill. The machines at the newly renovated gym have individual TV screens, and watching my favorite shows helped pass the time. Starting with a moderate walking pace, I gradually increased the speed each time.

The second change I made was to revise my eating habits. My trainer sold me on the Calories In/Out model: If you take in more (fewer) Calories than you burn off, you'll gain (lose) weight. Proteins and Complex Carbs provide long-lasting energy, so they'll keep you full for a while. Simple Carbs, like sugar and white flour, are digested quickly, meaning you'll be hungry again sooner. Plus, those sugary goodies tend to be very high in Calories. Not much bang for your buck.

To track my progress, I started using FitDay, a free weight loss and diet journal. It helped me set up a Calorie budget, and even graphed my weight change. Actually looking at the numbers was enormously helpful. Plus, you can't beat the convenience of the iPhone app!

In order to keep my metabolism working, I would eat every 2-3 hours, beginning with mandatory breakfast. If you're going to have 6-8 meals a day, they need to be pretty small. Many of them were well-balanced snacks, like apples and peanut butter, whole wheat crackers with cheese, hummus and carrots, or high-protein granola bars. I would enjoy a low-Calorie protein smoothie nearly every day after a workout.

Whenever I went out to a restaurant, I would order something small, and take half home for the next day. No appetizer, no dessert, no drink. (As an added bonus, this was a huge money-saver!) I set up a filter on my sink, and drank lots and lots of water every day. Occasional juice, limited alcohol, no soda.

Portion control is not easy. My whole life, I've had a bad habit of eating too fast, and my food always seemed to disappear before I could even realize it. I trained myself to slow down and eat mindfully, focusing on the taste and texture of the food. I would literally take a few bites, turn away from my plate, and take several deep breaths. I might even leave the room for a few minutes, check my e-mail, whatever, then come back. It takes about 15 minutes for your brain to register that you've eaten; I would aim for my meals to last at least 10.

Nobody is perfect, and I slipped up a lot at first. Some days, I would get frustrated, and eat everything in sight. I was too ashamed to enter my Calorie counts on those days. To keep my sweet tooth satisfied, I found it helpful to build in a carefully selected treat every day.

Motivating myself to work out was tough as well. At one point I got overwhelmed with school, and didn't exercise for almost two weeks (gasp!). Fortunately, I was able to keep to my diet, and my trainer helped me get back on track once school quieted down.

After five months of hard work, I achieved my goal of dropping 40 lbs. In the two months since then, I've kept up with my good habits, and my weight has stayed within a few pounds of 165. I'm proud to say that I didn't use any drug or fad diet to lose the weight; It was sheer determination and willpower.

One of the most exciting things about this whole experience has been my clothing. At my heaviest, I was squeezing into a 36-inch waist, and felt uncomfortable wearing a Large shirt. Now, I proudly wear a 32-inch waist, and a Medium.

In part because of my weight loss, I have experienced a major paradigm shift in the last year. I'll summarize it with the following quote from the Native American Code of Ethics.

"Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions.

Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you."

So, Happy Birthday, Seek The Sooth. It's been an eventful year, and I'm looking forward to the next leg of my journey.

Reunion in Rochester

2011-02-18T18:19:00.015-05:00

I expected the chocolate store to be busy for Valentine's Day, but it was worse than I thought. Who knew that Chocolate-Covered Strawberries were so popular? I didn't… Not until we got a shipment of 400 pounds. Monday was the worst -- one of our guys broke his thumb playing hockey, so we were short-staffed on the busiest day of the year. Exhausting as it was, my co-workers are a lot of fun, so I did enjoy most of the weekend.

I was off from work Saturday evening, and I met up with two of my friends from French class. We studied at Starbucks for a while, then went to a cozy little Indian Restaurant downtown. My friends seemed to know the city better than I do, despite being from out of town, and out of the country, respectively. I did move to Florida right around when I was learning to drive, so it makes sense that I'm still learning the roads around here.

While at the 2010 National Congress of Esperanto-USA, I met my friend Chris. We've chatted a lot on Skype and over text messages, but I haven't seen her since then. On Monday, I'm visiting her in Rochester, where she studies Linguistics and Economics. She has classes next week (some of which I'll sit in on), but I don't; in addition to Spring Break in April, UAlbany has a week-long Winter Break, which begins on Monday.

Several years ago, I tried a demo of Finale, a popular music notation program. I liked it, but wasn't willing to pay $600 for the full version. I recently discovered Lilypond, which does the job even better. Oh, and it's free software. The catch? No graphical user interface. You input all the information as text, and it creates the score as a PDF file. It's a bit confusing at first, but well worth the effort.

Sweet!

2011-02-04T19:33:00.004-05:00

On Saturday, I went to New York City for a family visit. My mom was up from Florida, and we hung out with my brother, his girlfriend and her roommate. My brother and I agree, there are three things to do in New York: eat, drink, and shop. We did our share of each, and I ended up with a nice pair of pants from Desigual, a clothing store based in Barcelona. That night, I stayed with my grandparents in on Long Island, and came home Sunday evening.

This week was cold and snowy. I don't remember the exact amount, but we definitely got over a foot. My classes were cancelled Tuesday and Wednesday... Oh, did I mention I'm taking classes here? Online Biology wasn't quite keeping me occupied, so I decided to sit in on my friend Krista's Greek class. I'm also brushing up on my French at UAlbany (ça va bien).

Last, but not least, I got a job! Starting tomorrow, I'll be a supervisor at the chocolate store in the mall. I imagine it'll be really exciting from now until Valentine's Day, and then calm down a bit until Easter. I'll definitely need to start spending more time at the gym, though. That employee discount could be very good, or very bad.

I've started using Google Calendar to keep track of my activities. It looks nice, it's easy to use, and it even syncs with my iPhone.

Now that I've finally unpacked my kitchen supplies, I've been cooking a bit more. VegWeb is a great resource for delicious vegetarian and vegan recipes.

Trip to Gainesville: Postponed

2011-01-23T17:10:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe that a whole month has passed since I moved to Albany. I've been doing lots of fun things – shopping for clothes, playing Age of Empires II, seeing the new Harry Potter movie a third and fourth time – as well as more serious things – volunteering at the Albany Food Co-op, redecorating my room, selling my old textbooks on Amazon.

Amidst all this activity, I haven't spent much time thinking about what I'm doing this semester. Now that my friends here have started school, the pressure is on. I'd like to get a job of some sort, and maybe do some tutoring.

I had planned to visit Gainesville this week to attend this semester's Career Showcase, but I've decided to postpone. I want to settle in a bit more before making such a big trip. To be honest, I feel relieved that I won't have to worry about the Showcase (I don't even have a resume or a suit). I was looking forward to visiting my friends, but I'll have to plan for another time (hopefully soon). This month flew by, and in three more, I'll be graduating. It's time to get the ball rolling.

Track your flight with a simple Google search. For example, I was scheduled to take Southwest flight 502 from Albany to Orlando. (via Lifehacker)

Here's an interesting idea to make your passwords strong and easy to remember. (Via Make Use Of)

My Top Five UF Courses

2011-01-04T16:12:00.003-05:00

My final semester as an undergraduate begins tomorrow. I'll complete my last course online, but I won't be on the physical campus. I've taken a variety of courses, some better than others. Here are my top five.

1) LIN3201/4320 - Sounds of Human Language / Introduction to Phonology (Spring 2010, Fall 2010)
This sequence was very rigorous. In the first part, we learned to produce and perceive nearly all the sounds in the International Phonetic Alphabet. In the second part, we learned how these sounds combine and change in different environments. For example, say "winner" and "winter" carefully. Now say them quickly. See what happened? After this sequence, I'm always listening to people around me, and transcribing their pronunciation in my head. Finally, I improved my ability to work in groups. For our project, my partner and I analyzed a data set, and presented our results. We did great, and I'm really proud of our work.

2) SPN4780 - Spanish Phonetics (Spring 2010)
I've studied Spanish for years, and I always thought my pronunciation was good. In this course, I corrected a lot of errors, and improved my proficiency (the course was taught in Spanish). I learned to identify different accents, and to better understand rapid speech. I also realized that a second-language learner will never be as proficient as a native speaker.

3) MUT1122/2126 Theory of Music II/III (Spring 2008, Fall 2009)
Music is a big part of my life. I've played trumpet since elementary school, sang in my high school choir, and picked up some piano along the way. I have a good ear, and this sequence helped me "fine-tune" it. We practiced sight-singing (read and sing a short melody given the starting pitch) and dictation (transcribe music, usually four-part harmony on piano, given the starting chord). Now, when I listen to music, it's second nature to analyze the chord structure and transcribe the melody in my head.

4) MAA4211/4212 - Advanced Calculus I/II (Fall 2009, Spring 2010)
I've always loved calculus, and this sequence gave me a deeper understanding of how and why it works. I also improved my ability to think abstractly and write a formal argument. The textbook was well-written, logically organized, and about the size of a DVD case. And for $12.95, it's the best-valued textbook I've ever bought.

5) CHM3217 - Organic/Biochemistry I (Spring 2008)
For a while, I was considering a major in Chemistry, and this course was a requirement. We had to memorize a lot of reactions, and understand how and why they work. Part of this was learning how to visualize molecules in three dimensions. Towards the end of the course, we learned about organic synthesis. The professor would draw a molecule, and we had to show how to derive it from available chemicals. For example, we learned how to synthesize Salicylic Acid, which is used in the production of Aspirin.

Well, there you have it. I've definitely learned some interesting things, and I look forward to more. To all my classmates down South, good luck!

Moving Out Part III

2010-12-27T12:56:00.007-05:00

I arrived in Albany on Friday, December 24th, and confirmed that it was not yet Christmas. It was too late for a movie, but my dad, brother and I picked up some Chinese food, and celebrated at home.

Last night, I saw the Trans-Siberian Orchestra at the Times Union Center in downtown Albany. The show was incredible: fire, lasers, and great music. The arena seemed huge when I was a kid. Now, it pales in comparison with the Swamp, which has five times the seating capacity.

This week, I'll be unpacking boxes and setting up my room. I have some warm clothes, but I should buy more. I'll need to bundle up to play in the snow.

Moving Out Part II

2010-12-22T22:09:00.006-05:00

I'm currently in Titusville, FL with my dad, about 10 miles from the Kennedy Space Center. "Space City, USA," they call it. It's a quiet town, but we found a nice Mexican-Cuban restaurant for dinner. We're leaving on the Auto Train tomorrow, and hoping to visit the KSC in the morning.

My mom celebrated her birthday this weekend. We went to a fancy Italian restaurant on Sunday, and then went out again on Monday. After dinner, we went to Yogurtland, my favorite frozen yogurt chain (compared with Mochi and Yogaberry). You just can't get that kind of thing up North. Although, they are opening one in New Jersey. I mean, it's only a three-hour drive.

I spent the rest of my time either with friends, or relaxing with Lucy, my mom's Calico cat.

Although I'm sad that I no longer call South Florida home, I'm happy that I enjoyed my last week there.

Moving Out Part I

2010-12-18T09:48:00.004-05:00

While finishing up my final project, I took periodic breaks to pack up my stuff. I quickly realized that it would not all fit in my car, so I decided to ship some books. I went to the UPS store and arranged them all in a giant box. I figured it would be about 50 pounds. Boy, was I wrong.

My four year book collection weighed in at a whopping 125 pounds. That's about the weight of a small deer. Anyway, it all fit into two boxes, and wasn't too expensive with the media mail rate.

I had to leave a few things behind, but I got all the essentials in the car. I'm now with my mom in South Florida for a few days, and looking forward to spending time with friends and family. It feels great to be done with the semester.

Returning Home

2010-12-13T17:44:00.004-05:00

I have been living in Gainesville for over three years. It's been a good experience, but it hasn't exactly been smooth sailing, to say the least. I've learned so much, both academically and personally, but I think it's time for a change.

I grew up in Albany, NY and still consider it my hometown. After this semester, I'm moving back there for a while. I'll finish my UF degree online, and then graduate in May.

I'll miss a lot – the classes, the campus, and of course my friends – but I feel Albany is the best place for me right now. In some ways, I feel as though I've been on a really long vacation, and I'm finally going home.

A Sooth Unsought

2010-09-26T07:27:00.005-04:00

While Sooth-Seeking is one of my favorite activities, it's a good idea to take a break every now and then. Stop and smell the roses, you know. I've been doing a lot of that lately, and it's been very refreshing. The last three weekends have been particularly memorable.

The weekend of Friday, September 10th, my friend Krista visited from Albany, NY. That was only her second time on a plane, the other being 3 years ago, when she came to visit me for the first time!

Saturday was a lovely day at the beach. I hadn't been in a long time, and neither had Krista. Come to think of it, that was her first time at a beach with warm water!

On Saturday night, we went to see Owl City and John Mayer in concert. Both bands put on a great show, and the music was excellent.

But the excitement was just beginning! Sunday was a full nine hours at Islands of Adventure. We spent much of our time at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but also visited some of the other Islands.

The Harry Potter World was incredible! I indulged in several cups of Butterbeer and a Chocolate Frog. There was a shop for Magic Wands, and I of course bought one for myself. I also bought one for Krista. We had made a bet: we raced to re-read all seven Harry Potter books before her visit. The loser had to buy a wand for the winner.

I drove Krista to the airport on Monday morning, and made it back just in time for my classes. As the week progressed, my excitement for the weekend grew. I would turn twenty-one on Sunday!

On the morning of Saturday, September 18th, I went with three friends to St. Augustine. We spent most of the day at the beach, where we all got very sunburned.

Around 11PM, we set out to the center of the town. After some walking around, we found a nice-looking bar. Just three minutes before midnight, I flashed my ID, and I was in!

My friends generously paid for my drinks, and we all had a great time. Afterward, we ~~stumbled~~ walked back to our hotel room, and hung out until we fell asleep.

The next morning was fine (no hangover) and we returned to Gainesville in the afternoon. I spent the rest of the day relaxing and hanging out with Jordon.

And that brings me up to this weekend. On Friday night I went with some friends to a club downtown, and danced like a fool. That's worth commenting on.

I'm generally very self-conscious of my dancing. I don't quite understand exactly what I'm supposed to do. Everyone tells me to just "feel it" and "go with the beat." Despite their expert advice, I've always found myself totally inept on the dance floor. But this weekend, I decided that it was time to let loose.

And let loose I did. I was jumping around, flailing my arms and legs in all sorts of directions. And the best part? I did not care one bit what anyone else thought of me!

On Saturday, we went to see a movie, called Easy A. The movie was good, and the company made it even better.

This weekend has left me feeling refreshed and motivated to take on the week.

It seems that a few grains of Sooth have floated my way. It's amazing how sometimes the best way to find something is to stop looking for it.

One Major Plus One Major Is Two Majors!

2010-09-07T19:14:00.007-04:00

Since I was very young, I have had a deep interest in mathematics. In fact, there is an old family video of four-year-old me proclaiming to my parents, “one thousand plus one thousand is two thousands!”

When I first arrived at UF, I wanted to study Chemical Engineering. I loved Chemistry, and felt that this field would lead me to a lucrative job. I soon realized that I preferred Mathematics, and changed my major.

My first proof-based math course was love at first sight. I was sure that I wanted to continue proving mathematical theorems for the rest of my life.

The semesters kept on coming, and I kept on proving. I was on track to graduate early, and started completing my General Education courses. Introduction to Linguistics was particularly intriguing, and I signed up for another course the following semester.

While I loved the rigor of Mathematics, I found it difficult to see how such abstract ideas could apply to everyday human life. Linguistics, on the other hand, has a wealth of everyday applications, and can be just as rigorous as Mathematics. All that and a bag of chips.

Now in my fourth year, I am pursuing a double major in both fields. I plan to study Linguistics in Graduate School (in some as-of-yet undetermined location).

I feel sad that this may be my last semester in the world of proof-based Mathematics. It has been a fascinating journey, and I have grown tremendously over these last few years.

In a way, math will always be a part of me. While the specifics of the theorems will fade from my memory, I will be forever imbued with a curiosity about and appreciation of the universe that only a Mathematics Major can provide.

Closet Door Clopen

2010-08-29T15:22:00.004-04:00

When I started my blog, one of the first things that I did was to come out of the closet. My reason was that:

"...it will just make things easier for future posts."

This post is a good example.

On Thursday night, Jordon's friend Andrea came over, and the three of us chatted in the living room. I had met Andrea once or twice, and did not know how much Jordon had told her about me.

Our conversation eventually turned to dating, and I felt nervous, as I often do with that topic. I had to wonder, does Andrea know about me?

In my previous experience with this, there's usually an awkward moment where my interlocutor will ask me some heteronormative question. At this point, I have to make the choice to either lie, dodge the question, or explicitly reveal my sexual orientation.

Luckily, I had Jordon there as a buffer. He led me with an open-ended question, allowing me to subtly reveal myself, or to answer without doing so. I took the opportunity.

Andrea's casual acceptance was comforting, and I was able to relax and enjoy the conversatoin more. Thursday nights are always interesting around the apartment.

I sometimes think that life would be easier if I were heterosexual. The reality is that everyone has his own insecurities and concerns in life, and there's no fair way to compare myself to someone else.

I will say that I am very lucky to have a supportive network of family and friends. For better or for worse, I am a gay man, and I'm learning to accept that.

Lots of Glots

2010-08-16T22:13:00.014-04:00

When I have goals in mind, I like to keep them well-defined. That way, I can track my progress, and know when I've reached them. However, some goals are difficult to define, and therefore difficult to attain.

For example: I've got this dream that someday I'll be a polyglot. But what does that even mean to me? I've watched a few YouTube videos of self-proclaimed polyglots introducing themselves in their various languages, and I've been rather impressed. But I have to wonder, can they actually live in those languages, among communities of native speakers?

I do enjoy learning languages, but I often find myself lacking motivation. I've recently realized why that is: I've never been fully immersed in a foreign language community.

True, I spent a few days in Spain, where I spoke some Spanish. I've also been to Esperanto conventions, where I spoke mostly Esperanto. But I need to go much further than that.

At this point, the best way for me to be immersed in a foreign language would be to study abroad. I've been putting it off, mostly because I had to do some work on myself before I could handle a trip like that. But I've been making a lot of progress there, and I think I'll soon be ready to go for it.

In fact, I've already taken the first step. I re-signed my lease at my apartment, but only until December. I'm hoping to go to Spain for the Spring.

Maybe someday, I'll look back at this post, and realize just how far I've come. I'm still a novice blogger, but I think I'm starting to figure it out. I like to keep a record of my life, and learn from past experiences. And anyone who wants to join me for the ride is welcome to read along.

I say, you say, we all say USEJ

2010-07-30T18:28:00.009-04:00

Last week I asked for "good luck" on my French exam. I definitely got some of that, and ended up with a 99%!

The highlight of this week was a Skype meeting for USEJ (US Esperanto Youth,) led in part by yours truly. I expected about ten people to show up, so I was very happy that there were eighteen!

At first, we called on people in turn to introduce themselves. Then, I led a fast-paced scavenger hunt for Esperanto trivia. Those who played (everyone except the founding members of the chat) seemed to really enjoy it. Finally, I gave out some links to Esperanto-themed websites.

Overall, the meeting was very successful, and I got good feedback from the participants. One thing I will change for next time: If we have a game, I will be sure to include everyone.

Speaking of next time, we will meet again on Wednesday, August 4th at 6PM Eastern. If you would like to participate, please add me on Skype (andy91989).

And now, a first for Seek The Sooth... Links!

When learning a foreign language, it can be difficult to find people to practice with. I sometimes use Livemocha or Busuu to connect with people and chat in various languages. There are also free learning courses available on both websites (although I'm not a huge fan of their Rosetta Stone-like style).

Republican Florida state representative Mike Weinstein releases a campaign ad in the form of a catchy song. (Via Chris Wingrove)

The Hack of the Irish

2010-07-22T01:05:00.017-04:00

Hello Again!

This blog entry started out as a comment to this post by Benny the Irish Polyglot. It describes my experience with a particular “language hack” described in said post. Enjoy!

Throughout middle school and high school, I studied Spanish. I was a good student, but at the end of all those years, I didn't feel comfortable communicating with native speakers.

When I got to college, I didn't have time for Spanish classes. I kept up a bit with reading and writing, but fell out of practice with listening and speaking.

Then, in December 2008, I decided to give Esperanto a try. I went online and bought an out-of-print book (Teach Yourself Esperanto by John Cresswell and John Hartley), which was recommended to me by a friend.

I studied for about two months, and then started chatting with other Esperantists online. I kept up with it for a while, and eventually made plans to travel to Europe with my Esperanto-speaking friend.

During our travels, we switched off between English and Esperanto. I improved a lot over the trip, but I didn't feel quite "fluent" (according to Benny's definition, which I really like).

My level stayed about the same until the following year, when I attended the 2010 U.S. Convention of Esperanto. I had a great time, and really improved my proficiency.

That was all a few months ago, and I'm back at my college town in Florida, USA. I have a bit more confidence in my ability to learn languages, and I've gotten back into Spanish. I'm also taking a French class here.

As I write this post, I'm leafing through my old, faded copy of Teach Yourself Esperanto. Whether or not it helped, I don't know, but at worst, it's been a lot of fun.

Colorful Language (SFW)

2010-07-21T20:35:00.018-04:00

Hello!

Just a quick post to let you all know that I haven't forgotten about my blog! Here's an update of what's going on right now:

Summer B is well underway at UF, and I'm taking classes! I've got a great schedule, with Biology (online) and French (lecture). Biology has been seriously neglected, but I'm starting to catch up.

On the other hand, French has been wonderful! I'm learning a whole lot, and very quickly. I've got at least three factors working for me. First, I have some experience with linguistics and language-learning. Second, the grammar is very similar to Spanish. Third, and perhaps most importantly, about 70% of the vocab is cognate to me, from English, Spanish, and Esperanto. Here's a simple example:

I have provided Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English, Esperanto, Spanish, and French. Words that are cognate with French will be highlighted in special colors. Blue for English, yellow for Esperanto, and red for Spanish. At the end, the colors will mix together for the French, showing which words are cognate to me, and from which language(s).

EN: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

EO: Ĉiuj homoj estas denaske liberaj kaj egalaj laŭ digno kaj rajtoj. Ili posedas racion kaj konsciencon, kaj devus konduti unu al alia en spirito de frateco.

ES: Todos los seres humanos nacen libres e iguales en dignidad y derechos y, dotados como están de razón y conciencia, deben comportarse fraternalmente los unos con los otros.

FR: Tous les êtres humains naissent libres et égaux en dignité et en droits. Ils sont doués de raison et de conscience et doivent agir les uns envers les autres dans un esprit de fraternité.

Well, that was fun! This is my first time ever delving into the wonderful world of HTML. I tried to do most of it on my own, but I do have to credit Jordon with pointing me in the right direction for the color mixing. Apparently, I missed that day of kindergarten. Thanks, Jordon!

To wrap up this post, I'll give some basic statistics about my little demonstration.

In the original passage...

Total Words: 34
Total Unique Words (not counting repeats): 26
Total Unique Non-Cognate Words: 7

So, from this VERY small sample size, it would seem that I was able to identify 19/26 = 73% of the words. Pretty close to my estimate of 70%.

Well, I have truly enjoyed writing this blog post. Nevertheless, a French exam awaits me in the morning. Wish me "bonne chance" on my exam!

~Andy/Andreo/Andrés/André

P.S. For those of you who don't know, SFW = Safe For Work. :-P

At the 58th National Convention of Esperanto-USA (Part 1)

2010-06-03T22:15:00.015-04:00

I've returned from the National Convention, and I really want to blog about it. So, here we go!

On Saturday, May 29th, Jordon and I arrived at the airport in Baltimore, MD. My dad lives in New York (state), but has friends in Washington, D.C.. He drove down to visit them, and at the same time to help us get to the convention. Also, he generously offered to give me the car that he drove there. Thanks, dad!

When we arrived, we spoke with the people in the lobby, and paid for the Convention. That day, almost all of the attendees were on an excursion, so Jordon and I decided to eat dinner with my dad and his friends.

We ate at a Lebanese restaurant. When we arrived, all the regular tables were taken, so the hostess offered us a sofa next to a short, small table. We didn't mind, so we sat down.

We ordered a lot of food. When the waiter brought everything to the table, a plate fell from his tray, and broke on the floor. Although this scared us, no one was hurt. The hostess offered us another sofa, but my dad asked if there was an open table. Indeed there was, and she sat us there instead. By the way, my dad is a lawyer.

The food was very tasty, and after the meal, I felt very full. We returned to the Convention, and the other attendees returned after a bit.

We were very happy that a lot of young people attended (around twelve in all). The biggest group came from the Esperanto club at the University of Illinois, whose president is the one and only mythical Darcy Ross (yes, she can fly!) Jordon and I had only decided to go to the Convention two weeks previously, and I guess Darcy didn't know that we would be coming. She was very happy to see us, and of course, the feeling was mutual.

After we got to know each other, someone suggested that we go to a dance club. I'm not much of a dancer, so I felt a little hesitant. But in the end, I decided to go with them.

While we were dancing, I felt a little self-conscious and nervous, so I went to the other room to chat with two other guys from Darcy's group. They weren't really in a dancing mood either, so we decided to go to the restaurant next door, which had some nice vegetarian options. I enjoyed that a lot more than dancing.

Around 2AM, we left the dance-club/restaurant, and took the metro back to the hotel where the Convention was being held. Although the others went to bed, I decided not to sleep that night. (For future reference: this is nearly always a bad idea.) Instead, I prepared a lecture on phonetics, which I would be giving the next day.

Jordon also blogged about this event.
Vidu tiun ĉi blogaĵon en Esperanto.
[Update (10/13/11): I never finished writing the rest of this story. I'll get to that at some point…]

Destination: National Esperanto Congress

2010-06-01T16:05:00.232-04:00

Lately, it seems that I've been flying a lot, and I like to blog while traveling. Today, Jordon and I are heading to the 2010 National Congress of Esperanto-USA, in Washington, D.C.

I first heard about Esperanto back in high school, from the Nickelodeon cartoon Danny Phantom. In the episode "Public Enemies," Danny meets Wulf, an Esperanto-speaking wolf ghost. Here's a clip of the entire episode. If you want to skip to the Esperanto parts, they're at 00:50, 08:25, 11:10, 15:05, and 20:15. (Be forewarned: the grammar is atrocious.)

Anyway, I liked the idea, so I began the popular 10-lesson course, and joined Lernu. I didn't know any other speakers, and none of my friends wanted to learn, so I lost interest.

Esperanto found me again in Fall 2007, during my first semester in college. The language came up in conversation with my dorm roommate, and it turned out there was another speaker literally three doors down. Jordon approached me about starting a club, and we began meeting in Fall 2008.

As our Vice-President, I figured I should actually learn the language. So, I bought a copy of Teach Yourself Esperanto, and worked through it in about two months. Then, I created a Skype account, and began chatting with Esperantists from around the world. Little by little, my Esperanto improved, and I decided to attend the 2009 National Congress in St. Louis, Missouri.

On the way there, I was filled with nervous excitement about the idea of communicating in a foreign language. I didn't need to feel nervous, though; everyone was really friendly and helpful, and I had a great time. I spent the next two months backpacking through Europe with Jordon, where we had lots of exciting Esperanto adventures. (Jordon blogged extensively during our trip - definitely "Czech" it out.)

Now, one year later, we're going to the National Congress together. I'm lot more confident with the language, and I hope to experience this year's Congress on a deeper level.

Vidu tiun ĉi blogaĵon en Esperanto.

Mac In Business

2010-05-20T21:01:00.009-04:00

NEW MACBOOK!

w00t w00t!

Alright, so here's the story. As you might have read in my last blog post, I recently spilled Gatorade on my Macbook, and supposedly destroyed it. Well, it just so happens that my friend Krista in New York had a Macbook very similar to mine, although the screen was busted. Since the screen on my Macbook was totally intact, I thought about taking my screen and using it to replace Krista's. Since she already had a new computer, I figured I could buy her old one and do the repair for myself.

I explained my plan to Krista, and she liked it, so we agreed on a price. My friend Scott from New York came down for a week, so he brought the laptop with him (more on Scott's visit later).

After watching a few videos on YouTube, and buying some special tools, I got right to work. Two days later... Eureka! Voilà! Jen! The Macbook is repaired and fully functional. In fact, I'm using it to write this blog post! (By the way, "Jen!" is Esperanto for "Behold!" Be careful though: it's pronounced "yen," like the Japanese currency. Not "Jen," like the name).

Clearly, I'm ecstatic. XD

So, let's back up a bit. I returned home from Wisconsin on Monday, May 3rd, and then Scott flew down on Saturday, May 8th. We spent the week together doing all sorts of cool stuff, like wakeboarding, going to Islands of Adventure, etc.

That week was one of the best that I've had so far this year. Thanks, Scott!

That was also the week when I started on this wonderfully consistent sleep schedule. I go to bed around midnight, and wake up around 9 in the morning. Every day. It's great! Don't ask me how I did it; I have no idea. All I know is that life is much easier this way. I sure hope it continues.

Well, that brings me up to this week. On Sunday, May 16th, my family and I came up to visit my grandma, as usual. But this time, I would be staying with her for the week.

I've started classes at a university here in South Florida (FAU), and won't have a car for the next few weeks, so I'm using my grandma's for now.

My classes meet MWF, and today is Thursday, so it's a slow day. I've just been relaxing and watching TV. My grandma and I have been eating dinner together each night. It's really nice to sit together and talk. My grandpa passed away about a year ago, and we really enjoy sharing memories of him.

Tomorrow will mark the end of my first week of classes at FAU. It's been great so far. My classes are interesting and enjoyable.

Finally, I would like to announce that Jordon and I will be attending the U.S. National Convention of Esperanto (Landa Kongreso) in Washington, D.C. My dad will meet us in there with a car, which will then be mine for the summer (and possibly next year too!) I'm really looking forward to it, and I'll be sure to keep my blog updated while I'm there.

Thanks for reading!

~Andy

Odds and Ends

2010-05-03T02:57:00.012-04:00

It's been quite a while, hasn't it?

So here's the deal. I have lots of stuff that I want to talk about, but I'm just going to highlight the important points.

Here goes.

On the morning of Wednesday, April 21st, I brought Tucker in to the vet's office. He had been sick for several days, and I was very worried about him.

The vet and I discussed the situation, and she informed me that he most likely had cancer, and was unlikely to recover. We made the difficult decision to put him to sleep.

I was crying a lot, but I do feel that it was the right decision.

Although our time together was short, we helped each other very much. I am so grateful for the time that I got to spend with him.

That's all that I have to say for now. Tucker was a wonderful cat, and he deserves a better eulogy than I can provide at this time.

Losing Tucker was very stressful. I've found it difficult to focus on school lately, and I barely made it through the end of the semester. As of today, everything is in order with my classes. I was able to complete the work for all but one class (Structures of Human Language). For now, I will take an Incomplete in that course, and I will have to finish my final project in then next few weeks.

This weekend, I've been in Wisconsin visiting my cousins, aunt and uncle, and grandparents. It has been wonderful to connect with family, and I'm sad to be leaving in the morning (technically toady!).

I'm currently typing on the Netbook that Jordon and I used this summer on our trip around Europe. Why, you ask? I unfortunately spilled Gatorade on my MacBook a few weeks ago, and totally destroyed it (according to the Apple Store in Orlando). Luckily, I was able to rescue my hard drive; it's now safe and secure in a plastic casing, functioning as an external storage drive.

Semicolons are seriously underrated.

I'm not even going to bother trying to summarize everything else that has happened in the few weeks since my last post.

I've got lots of exciting things coming up soon. On Friday, my friend Scott is coming down from Albany, NY to visit. I hope to take him to Gainesville for a while, and also to Orlando.

I'll be sure to post again soon.

Thanks for reading!

~Andy

Spanish Phonetics!

2010-04-03T02:02:00.011-04:00

Hi everyone,

First of all, I would like to apologize for not posting recently. I have been very busy with schoolwork, and haven't had time to keep up with my blog as much as I would like to. I will try harder in the future to keep you regularly updated on my fascinating life. :-)

As a peace offering, I present to you a full-color picture of Tucker The Cat (taken with my cell phone).

Please leave your comments and let me know just how handsome you think he is.

Now that we've got your attention, I would like to announce a special featurette that I posted today on my Spanish-language blog. Click ~~here~~ to check it out. [Update (06/11/11): The post mentioned here is under (re-)construction.]

Feel free to comment on this entry and/or the other one. Also, don't feel pressured to comment in Spanish, just because it's a Spanish-language blog (not that you would... I guess).

Enjoy!

~Andy

Good Luck Tuck

2010-03-27T01:26:00.003-04:00

When I got back to my apartment on Monday night, there was a cute orange cat sitting under one of the cars in the parking lot. I had seen a similar-looking cat a few weeks before, and I was pretty sure it was the same one. Except this time, he looked really thin and hungry.

Being the animal lover that I am, I picked him up and brought him into my room. Then, I went out to buy some supplies, including food and a littler box.

I came back to my apartment and tried to feed him, but he wouldn’t eat. So, I called a friend, and got him to drive us to an after-hours vet. They checked him for an identification microchip (not found) and offered him some food (not eaten). They also confirmed that the cat is a neutered male. Since he seemed dehydrated, they decided to give him a fluid pouch under his skin. He seemed stable, so they told me to bring him home and take him to a regular clinic the next morning.

Tuesday morning, the cat and I got a ride to the vet. They took a blood sample, and did a bunch of tests. As the tests were developing, the doctor advised me that if he had a serious medical issue, it might be more humane to euthanize him that day, rather than have him live in pain for a short period of time. At this point, I had to ask for a box of tissues; I was crying.

Fortunately, his blood work looked excellent. According to the doctor, he has no serious medical condition, and just needs a home. The only reason they could think of as to why he wasn’t eating is that his teeth are in bad shape. They sent us home with some feline pain-killers and appetite stimulants.

That night, I gave him a bath (he was quite dirty from living outside). After a lot of meowing and struggling, he was clean. He’s been sleeping in bed with me, and eating a little during the day.

This weekend, I’m boarding him at the vet. They’re very nice, and will make sure that he gets his meds, and eats well. Naturally, I plan to call them several times a day to check up on him. When I dropped him off, they got him situated and then let me see him before leaving. He stuck his paw between the bars of the cage and reached out for me. Cute!

I told my roommates the whole story, and they don’t seem to have a problem with my keeping him for now. So, I’ll pick him up on Monday afternoon, and take him home. He’s an orange tabby cat with a big fluffy tail. I have decided to call him Tucker. Pictures coming soon!

By the way, for the third time in a row now, I’m blogging while on a plane. This time, I’m on my way to Long Island for the annual Passover Seder with my dad’s family. I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone.

Oh, I almost forgot. I got my Advanced Calculus exam back on Monday. I got 26/30, a B+ (!). And, he’s letting us do corrections on it, so I could possibly raise that to a 28/30, for an A.

Well, dear readers, that’s all I’ve got for now. Thanks for reading!

~Andy

Weekend in Albany

2010-03-22T05:18:00.009-04:00

What a weekend! Highlights again? I think so...

Friday night: I got into Albany around 11 PM, and then went to Wal-Mart with my friends Krista and Scott. We joked around, laughed, and had an all-around good time.

Saturday afternoon: I played soccer and football with my friends (including Krista and Scott) at a local college campus. I even brought my dog Dakota. She chased us around, barked a lot, and seemed to really enjoy herself.

Saturday night: I went with my dad, brother, and friends to a Hibachi restaurant in town (you know, where they cook the food in front of you). It was amazing! We had a great time, and took some pictures. Afterward, we all went to an ice cream shop. There was a local band playing, and we requested Hotel California. They obliged, and we sang along. Good times. Later, Krista, Scott, and I relaxed at Krista's house, and then I went home.

Sunday: Exhausted from the previous day's sports, I slept in late. In the afternoon, I went to Friendly's (a regional food chain) with my friends. Apparently, there's a new law in Albany that restaurants have to show the Calorie count for all items on their menu. I was shocked that most items were over 1000 Calories.

Eventually my dad and brother came to pick me up and bring me to the airport. Turns out my flight was delayed due to bad weather in Atlanta (where my connection would be), so I decided to change it for the next morning.

Sunday night: I went back to my dad's place, and just relaxed for a while. Then, Krista invited me over to her house. We joked around, laughed some more, and had a great time. We even called my friend Dana in China (via Skype), and helped her practice her English. We also played guitar/sang for her. Lots of fun!

Monday morning: Well, I didn't sleep last night, and now I'm on the plane. I'll probably take a nap along the way, as I'll be going directly to class when I arrive into Gainesville.

As always, I had a great time hanging out with my friends and family. I look forward to my next visit.

Thanks for reading!

~Andy

Rockin' The Suburbs

2010-03-20T02:57:00.006-04:00

The rest of my Spring Break went very well.

Thursday night, I went to my aunt and uncle’s house in Miami. My uncle has an electric keyboard and plays saxophone. I brought my trumpet over and we rocked out to some jazzy beats from his keyboard. On the way home, I visited my friend Lindsey in Ft. Lauderdale.

Friday night, I don’t think I did anything too exciting.

Saturday I went out to dinner with my family, and then went back to the dance club in Miami. I didn’t have as much fun as usual (I’m not too sure why, maybe I just wasn’t feeling it,) so I eventually returned home.

Sunday was probably my favorite day of the whole break. My family and I went back to visit my grandma in Boynton Beach. Just being with my family always makes me feel happy. Love you all. (:

So that was Spring Break. I arrived into Gainesville late Sunday night.

This week was great, both academically and socially. I’ll give you the highlights:

Monday-Tuesday: I did some homework for Sounds of Human Language and Spanish Phonetics. I also studied like crazy for my Advanced Calculus exam on…

Wednesday: The exam went very well. This my second semester with the professor, so I was able to figure out a general idea of what would be on the exam. Either I’m a good guesser, or I got lucky. Or both. I’ll let you know when I get my grade back.

Later that night, one of my favorite musicians, Ben Folds was playing on campus. The concert was sold out, but I scored a ticket online. Thank you, Craigslist. The concert was amazing! It was literally just Ben Folds by himself with a piano. He made us all scream, laugh, and swear. I even came close to crying at one point. He’s just that good. If you don’t know his music, look it up (or ask me for some).

Thursday: We had taken an exam in Structures of Human Language before the break. I wasn’t feeling great about it, so I was shocked to get it back with a shiny 15/15 circled on the front.

From there, my Thursday night just got better and better. I hung out with Lindsey again (she also goes to UF). Later, she drove me home, and I had a really cool conversation with my roommate Jordon. We stayed up past 1 AM talking about all sorts of things, laughing, and just having a great time. Thanks, Jordon!

And... now it’s Friday. I’m returning to my hometown of Albany, NY to visit my dad for the weekend. As a matter of fact, I’m on the plane right now (I guess I’ll post it later… they should really have WiFi on planes). I’m really looking forward to reconnecting with family and old friends.

Thanks for reading!

~Andy

Announcement

2010-03-14T08:27:00.014-04:00

Hello, world.

I am here to make an important announcement. I, Andy Rosenbaum, identify as a homosexual.
There, I said it lol.

Obviously, there is much more to the story. I plan to write another post at some point detailing my experience of coming out as a gay male. However, for now, my dear readers will have to settle for reading this short post.

Everyone in my life who matters to me already knows, so I decided that I don't care if the rest of the world knows, too. And it will just make things easier for future posts.

Thank you very much for reading my blog. I hope that you have enjoyed this brief, but heartfelt post. ~Andy

Vidu tiun ĉi blogaĵon en Esperanto.

Spring Break

2010-03-11T02:43:00.011-05:00

So... Here I am again. Blogging for the second time.

Fun fact: I keep a journal. Truth be told, I haven't written in there a lot recently.

I've always admired Jordon for many things, but with regards to his blog:
1) His ability to censor himself enough so that his blog is not just random thoughts.
2) His ability to be open enough so that his blog is interesting.

Now that I'm writing this, I'm beginning to wonder:
1) Does my mind wander more than most?
2) Is my life simply less interesting than most?

Already, I'm noticing a lot of censoring going on.

So yeah... about my journal. That's a highly personal space for me to express my deepest, most intimate thoughts and secrets that no one will ever know... Lol. I'm hoping that this well be something of a less intense journal, where I can express myself, but still feel okay about people reading it.

I'm a bit concerned that I won't be able to translate all of this into Spanish and/or Esperanto. I'm also wondering if it's even worth it. How many people are even going to read the English version?

I'm sitting at home right now. Sometimes, when I say "home", I mean my apartment in Gainesvile. At other times, I mean my mom's apartment in Coral Springs, FL. Today, I mean the latter. I'm sitting up in bed with my cat Lucy, a.k.a. Lucifur, Lucifur-ball, Luccia, Luccia-pet, etc. I'm also listening to Pandora. I used to use it all the time, but I had forgotten about it until recently. At the moment, I'm listening to a radio station based off of Maroon 5. I really like them.

I suppose I should give this entry some sort of topic, you know? But how will I ever contain myself?? I have so much to talk about!

I suppose I will satisfy myself with summarizing my Spring Break thus far.

I came home from Gainesville on the bus on Friday, March 5th. And then... what did I do? My memory is failing me. Well, I got home early, so we'll just say I came home and went to sleep. Sure. Haha.

Saturday night was great! I went out to a dance club in Miami with a friend who lives around there. I had a blast, and slept over at his friend's house. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention. I went to a Burger King on Calle Ocho (8th street), and the guy at the window asked for my order in Spanish! I thought it was hilarious, but I quickly recovered myself, and ordered in semi-convincing Spanish. He understood me well enough. At least my order came out how I wanted it haha.

Then, early Sunday morning, I went with my family to my Grandma's house. It's been a tradition for us to visit my grandparents every Sunday for a few years. Since I've been in Gainesville for the last two and a half years, I've only gone with them on those weekends when I come home to visit. My family (on both sides) is quite close-knit, and I really enjoy spending time with them. If any of you are reading this, I love you. :-)

Sunday night... I'm not really sure what I did. Maybe that was the night that I started on this awful sleep schedule... Yeah, that sounds about right. I went to bed like 6 AM on Monday morning, and woke up around 6 PM. Terrible lol.

Monday night I went out with some other friends in Ft. Lauderdale. I had a lot of fun, and then came home, and went to bed at a similar hour.

Tuesday and Wednesday nights, I hung out with friends again. Last night, we went to the beach, and actually went in the water. It was lots of fun. And then tonight, we went to Boca Raton, and then back to the beach. More fun.

Well, that's been my Spring Break so far. I'll probably be going back up to school on Sunday by bus again. The bus is okay. Sometimes they have Wi-Fi, so that's nice.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Bye!

New Blog!

2010-03-08T21:12:00.018-05:00

Hi everyone,

So, I've decided to start a blog! I'm not sure what I'll end up writing, but with a title like "Seek The Sooth," there's bound to be some awesome stuff here. I'll probably make an "About Me" section soon, but here's some background info for now.

I'm in my third year at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, USA, studying Mathematics and Linguistics. I really like learning languages. English is my first language, I learned Spanish in school, and I've studied Esperanto for a few years. I hope to learn French soon, and then hopefully something a bit more distant from English.

This summer, I'm hoping to spend some time in Madrid, Spain, taking a few classes in Spanish. I'm thinking this blog might be a good place to document my trip.

Well, thanks for visiting my blog. I hope you enjoy reading it.

P.S. Thanks to Jordon Kalilich for helping me set this up!

Vidu tiun ĉi blogaĵon en Esepranto.