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sleepy eyes, sleepy girl
May. 19th, 2006 11:23 pmMy eyes are burning like mad. I can't imagine why. I haven't gotten enough sleep this week because we are not smart enough to go to bed on time. We just spent an hour scraping wallpaper, wherein there was the spraying of a strong vinegar/water solution. And I have now cried over something or other at least three days in a row, and I have very sensitive eyes, and crying always brings out the worst in them. Today it was this, and I have got to stop clicking on things I know will be sad, but this is one of the most incredibly beautiful (and heartbreaking) things I have ever read on the internet, full stop. (I think many of you hang out in the same blog circles as I do, and if you do, you probably already realize that the author of this blog died last week of ovarian cancer at age 33.)
Kind of hard to segue gracefully into something else after that, huh?
So the boyo is laughing at me because I am jamming out to Diana Ross this week. My mom and I used to listen to it when I was youngerl, and I finally have a "best of" CD. I took a break from ironing my hair into submission this morning to run into the kitchen and make him dance with me. I think it strikes his fancy mainly because it is so, so not me. I am just not the Diana Ross type, but I am really liking my trip down memory lane here. If I had some Red Sovine, I'd be all set. (Not that those two are linked, except that we liked that, too.)
I am doing something pretty helpful lately with regards to my learn-Swedish thing. After we got the new stereo in the car, I took my previously-unlistened-to Pimsleur CD out there, and have been following along during my drive to and from work. It only takes me about five or six minutes to get to work, and I come home for lunch.. but still, that's more than twenty minutes a day! The lessons themselves are far below even my level, relatively speaking, but forcing myself to think Swedish at least four times a day has done wonders for my commitment and my willingness to force M to participate in nonsense conversations, plus it's actually really helping my pronunciation and intonation. That's my weakest point. (It was in French, too. I am just not good at the verbal skills.)
BUT. The conversations! They are making me batty because they are so, so unbelievably, hopelessly, terribly BAD. They're just stupid, and the voice actors have absolutely no inflection in their voice as they read from the page. However, it's not all bad. They are totally teaching me how to pick someone up. They seem to be focusing on words and phrases that can be used to pick someone up. They have not taught the words for house or car or dog, but they have drilled us about the hotel, and and "do you want to have a drink with me?" and "your place" and beer and wine (but not water.) It's truly terrible.. but it's serving its purpose so it doesn't have to be entertaining, I suppose.
(Also, they have been drilling "Hur står det till?" as the "How are you?" phrase. I had never heard that one before but thought, okay, I'll try it out. So I asked M during dinner the other day. He blinked so hard at me that his eyes nearly fell out of his head. "There's nothing wrong with saying that," my supportive instructor says, not bothering to hide his laughter, "IF YOU HAVE TIME-TRAVELED BACK TO 1964." So, yeah. There's something to be said for fact-checking before adding these things into my repertoire.)
Oh, speaking of my Swedish, I hit a fun milestone last Sunday. On the way to visit family, we were practicing via conversation, and I laughed so hard that I cried--and the whole thing was in Swedish only. I was gasping and holding my stomach and crying and laughing and I understood every freaking word. And if you're wondering what we were laughing about... well, of course he was making fun of me again, what else?
Kind of hard to segue gracefully into something else after that, huh?
So the boyo is laughing at me because I am jamming out to Diana Ross this week. My mom and I used to listen to it when I was youngerl, and I finally have a "best of" CD. I took a break from ironing my hair into submission this morning to run into the kitchen and make him dance with me. I think it strikes his fancy mainly because it is so, so not me. I am just not the Diana Ross type, but I am really liking my trip down memory lane here. If I had some Red Sovine, I'd be all set. (Not that those two are linked, except that we liked that, too.)
I am doing something pretty helpful lately with regards to my learn-Swedish thing. After we got the new stereo in the car, I took my previously-unlistened-to Pimsleur CD out there, and have been following along during my drive to and from work. It only takes me about five or six minutes to get to work, and I come home for lunch.. but still, that's more than twenty minutes a day! The lessons themselves are far below even my level, relatively speaking, but forcing myself to think Swedish at least four times a day has done wonders for my commitment and my willingness to force M to participate in nonsense conversations, plus it's actually really helping my pronunciation and intonation. That's my weakest point. (It was in French, too. I am just not good at the verbal skills.)
BUT. The conversations! They are making me batty because they are so, so unbelievably, hopelessly, terribly BAD. They're just stupid, and the voice actors have absolutely no inflection in their voice as they read from the page. However, it's not all bad. They are totally teaching me how to pick someone up. They seem to be focusing on words and phrases that can be used to pick someone up. They have not taught the words for house or car or dog, but they have drilled us about the hotel, and and "do you want to have a drink with me?" and "your place" and beer and wine (but not water.) It's truly terrible.. but it's serving its purpose so it doesn't have to be entertaining, I suppose.
(Also, they have been drilling "Hur står det till?" as the "How are you?" phrase. I had never heard that one before but thought, okay, I'll try it out. So I asked M during dinner the other day. He blinked so hard at me that his eyes nearly fell out of his head. "There's nothing wrong with saying that," my supportive instructor says, not bothering to hide his laughter, "IF YOU HAVE TIME-TRAVELED BACK TO 1964." So, yeah. There's something to be said for fact-checking before adding these things into my repertoire.)
Oh, speaking of my Swedish, I hit a fun milestone last Sunday. On the way to visit family, we were practicing via conversation, and I laughed so hard that I cried--and the whole thing was in Swedish only. I was gasping and holding my stomach and crying and laughing and I understood every freaking word. And if you're wondering what we were laughing about... well, of course he was making fun of me again, what else?
