26: The marathon year

Hey all

I just wanted to say thanks and thanks for the birthday love!! I haven't received any packages yet, but it's because the mail's going to my host counselor's post box and I don't see him that often. And I don't know how often he checks his mail either. And he's been out of town this week. And the term 'snail mail' (in the intra-continental sense) is very appropriate...

Special love to Dad and Ben for calling me!! You rock!

Roughly 26 miles in a marathon, so this is the "marathon year." After I turned 21 I needed something to associate w/my age so I could remember what age I was. People would ask me how old I was and I sometimes couldn't remember. Hence, the number association. I mean, let's face it, 21 (especially for American kids) is the most important birthday of the 20s decade. Everything else is just chopped liver in comparison, so you need something to jog you back into reality.

My birthday was pretty chilled out. I spent the morning studying and then went with some folks from the radio station to a braai (bbq) in the afternoon at a place called "Rust." A very cool radio show, The Eclectic Mix, has an after set at the venue. You can braai meat there and drink beers. Swim if you like. The vibe is very chill, which is appropriate for a Sunday afternoon...and a Sunday birthday. The Eclectic Mix is an awesome show that my boss, Stav, does on Sundays. It airs from 10am-2pm (SA time, GMT+2, 8 hours ahead of Chicago). You can stream it on-line at www.tuksfm.co.za if you are interested. They play a much needed funk/hiphop/DnB/triphop/cool oldies respite from the rawkus pop rock/pop punk that tends to dominate the playlists of the station. Stav does the show w/a guy called Bubbles that is a pretty well known DJ in SA. One of his CDs, HouseTunes4, is one of my favorite SA house CDs. So I got to meet him and took my photo w/him. Sweet!

The Lynnwood Park Green Grocer (where I buy my vegetables) and The Eclectic Mix are my 2 fav things about Pretoria so far...and it only took me a month and a half to discover these ;)

The rest of the evening I just checked my email and then went to bed early...I know, I know. But I didn't have anything to do, I sure as hell wasn't studying, and then I didn't know anyone else to go out with. I rolled and smoked my last cigarette w/Peter Stokkebye Norwegian Shag from Jon's Pipe Shop (in Champaign, IL). *sniffles* I told myself when I started smoking that I would stop if I ever lost my supply of Norwegian Shag. Well that day has come. I'm not married to smoking. I'm not married to quitting...but I sure as hell can't survive smoking Marlboro, Peter Stuyvesant (an SA cig brand), or Camel packaged crap. Those cigarette options make quitting an easy task. They taste so nasty compared to the nice full bodied Norwegian Shag. I just can't lower myself to that... And I know those Phillip Morris chemicals will get me hooked on tobacco for real! Also there is just something special to me about the process of rolling my own cigarettes. It personalizes it for me in a way I guess...it's not just consuming a product. It's fashioning it to my tastes and DIY-ing it. Thanks to Jon's for making me a snob!!!!

I added some photos to my photo site of my bday. You can find them in the "General Photos":
http://picasaweb.google.com/lynseemelchi

I took my first test today. When you take a test or an exam here it's called "writing." I wrote my first test today. Carbohydrate Metabolism...and I put that thing to bed!!! Meaning...I think I did really good on it. It was an easy test. Also the grading scale here is crazy as hell! Okay in the USA you know we have the A=100-90, B=89-80, C=79-70...and so on. The scale here is A=100-80 or 75 (depending on the teacher), B=74-70, C=69-60...and so on. Just "passing," meaning to get more than a 50%, is the focus for a lot of people. I unfortunately can't be content w/that...but if I could. Man, I would NEVER study!!! Just passing...nice. I don't know how this will translate into work for me...but it seems a lot easier to get an A. We'll see. I may be eating my words soon...

Well I gotta go get my study on some more...Amino Acid chemistry is on Friday...Bacteria on Monday. Yea.

Later
Much Love
Lynsee