Southfork

My flatmate Paul says that when he was younger his mom had a dress from the "Sue Ellen" collection. "She hasn't worn it in like 15 years," he said, unnecessarily.

Polish Lessons

Well, the English lessons for the Polish flatmate are coming along nicely. His vocabulary is steadily increasing, and he can now conjugate "to be" and "to have" in the present tense. We'll be reading Pride & Prejudice by March. I think he'll really identify with the Bennet sisters. Elizabeth Bennet, in particular.

This week I started Finnish classes. Two of the three other students speak better Finnish than I do, which is a definite plus. That way I can steal vocabulary from their brains. This week I learned the word "halla" which is Finnish for "summer night frost", which has been known to ruin a crop of grain, or two.

To make you smile

And now, on a lighter note.

Blogs aren't supposed to be sad

But my cousin Michelle died last night.

Michelle

My cousin Michelle, who is 32 years old, is in a coma in a hospital in Salem, Oregon. She suffered a massive stroke as a result of bacterial meningitis. She is on life support. Her liver is failing, she has a staph infection, and a heart murmur, and has suffered severe brain damage as a result of the stroke. Michelle has been a heroin user for many years. It has taken its toll on her body.

The Funniest Thing I Read Today

My friend Paul wrote this:

"A friend in need is a friend indeed. A friend in Gresham* is on his own, because I'm sure as hell not driving out to that @@@@hole to pick him up."

*Insert: Riverside or Leith, depending on where you live.

The Amazing Human Brain

I'm a big fan of the human brain. I currently have the pleasure of watching the human brain learn a foreign language. Paul and I are teaching our new flatmate English. "Ted" is a very eager student. Paul has taught him Ace, King, Queen, and Jack, and I have taught him the pronouns. "Cards are an international language," my mom said the other night on the phone. Indeed.

Peter-Marie

My sister is having another girl. She is expected to arrive mid May. So we have four months to decide on a name. And when I say 'we', I mean my sister and her husband, Hector. But that won't stop me from making suggestions.

Maria and Hector, when choosing the baby's name, should consider several things. The name should:

• sound good with their last name, Romero
• not 'clash' with the name of their first born, Aila (Layla, for example, would not be a wise choice.)
• reflect the baby's American/Finnish/Mexican heritage
• look good on a business card (in case the baby turns out to be Executive Material)
• honour as many relatives as possible

Of course the last point leads to the most hilarity. (See title.) This baby is related to people named: Ritva Maija-Liisa, Halsey Peter Pleasant, Nettie, Olavi Mattias, Selia, Poulette, Sarafia, to name just a few. We've had a good time coming up with combinations thereof. My favourite so far is Peter-Marie. My sister likes Peter Rose. (After my dad and his sister Rose Marie.)

PSL (Polish as a Second Language)

Paul and I have a new flatmate. His name is Ted. We think. But that's probably not his real name, because he's Polish, and it must be more exciting than Ted. He's been in Edinburgh since November, and he has a wife and two kids back in Poland. Ted is here to work and learn English, and send money back home.

These are some of the English words/phrases he knows:
zero
tea
good night
thank you
years
ashtray
May 2006

Good thing he brought a Polish/English dictionary and a phrasebook with him.

He is going back to Poland in May 2006 for his daughter's First Communion. That's a long time to be away from your kids.

Just finished reading . . .

Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions by Ben Mezrich

and

Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson

Fame

In second grade Valerie S. came to school and told everyone her uncle owned Disneyland. And we all knew she was lying, mainly because she wore an off-the-shoulder blouse on picture day, which I thought was highly inappropriate, and also because she didn't have any free tickets. And then, for some reason, the other night at dinner my Dad asked Stuart, who was visiting from Scotland, if I had told him that my dad's brother's step-daughter's husband's half sister was Lynnette "Squeaky" Fromme, who tried to assasinate President Ford in 1975. No, hadn't come up.

Apparently cousin Lynnette, if I can call her that (or cousin Squeaky, which is more fun), is due to be released this coming September. At least that's the impression I got from the inmate fact sheet listing her vitals (her middle name is Alice), which gave 09/05/2005 as her 'Projected Release Date.' Hopefully Squeaky's not reading the date by the European method which would lead her to think that she were going to be released on May 9, 2005. Either way, she'll be out in time to attend the next Family Reunion. (It's scheduled for Hood River, July 2006. At the fairgrounds. Turn right if you're headed East on I-84 from Portland. If you turn left you'll be in the Columbia River!) Squeaky could donate some of her unique, acid-trip inspired embroidery to the auction at the Family Reunion. (All proceeds go towards paying for the next reunion.)

Entschuldigung??

So Prince Harry is in hot water because he dressed like a Nazi officer (in the desert uniform) at a friend's birthday party. (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4170083.stm) Apparently the theme of the party was "native and colonial''. That's progressive. And who is still renting out Nazi desert uniform costumes??

The Funniest Thing I Heard Today

At lunch today, my friend and co-worker Robert told us that when he was 10 years old he called his younger sister a "German pig" and was sent to his room for "like two days."

rain rain rain rain

I was home for Christmas, in Southern California, and it rained and rained and rained and rained. And then I spent some time with my adorable niece and we watched it rain and rain and rain and rain. And then it kept raining and raining. And last night I got back to Edinburgh. And my mom called to say that they woke up and it was sunny.

Stay Tuned . . .

Soon to return to Edinburgh.
Have been in rainy Southern California.
My niece? Still a genius.