jayroop

hej folks, are you drinkers? or have you learned the hard way that you can’t hold you’re liquor, beer, or cider, even on a full stomach? did you get hungry just before going out, making you realize that it wasn’t a good night to get proverbially wasted? if your answer was yes, then keep on reading for a (cynical) account of what might’ve happened to you.

so, you thought it was a good idea to get a caffé mocha instead of a cider tonight. and maybe you also thought to yourself, “hej, why not make it a large one while we’re at it!”

well kid, to be quite frank, that was a bad idea. because now you’re finding yourself unable to sleep and it’s 612 in the morning and you’ve been awake for the past hour.

you’ve tried breathing exercises, letting the thoughts pass through your mind without grabbing onto them, ignoring the slight pain in your stomach from all the caffeine, and all to no avail. heck, you even tried playing GTA on your iPhone before you went to sleep to see if you could completely exhaust yourself in a futile attempt at avoiding this very situation.

what do you now? why write a blog post of course! here’s what it should look like:

1. make sure it starts off with an attempt at being witty
2. write in the third person about someone who is obviously yourself
3. don’t make it a post, make it a rant
4. tell’em what you’ve been doing since you’ve been awake
5. make a list of the things you wrote about
6. stop before you embarrass yourself any further in front of your readership of > 5
7. next time remember to drink decaf tea instead

yesterday i went with some friends out to vrångö, one of the islands in the archipelago just outside of göteborg. despite the chilling wind we managed to enjoy our time outdoors on the ocean. there’s nothing like getting away from the computer screen for a couple hours and experiencing life out by the sea and under the sun.

last weekend i finally ran out of clean clothes. fortunately, minyup also ran out of clean clothes while he was crashing here and we both decided to do laundry together.

unfortunately, we put too many clothes in the dryer and ended up with wet, wet clothes and had to leave them hanging around the apartment for 2 days before they dried out (some of them ended up pretty stinky and will need a re-wash). such is learning how to live in a new place (we also almost bought fabric softener instead of detergent).

jay here. for two-and-a-half weeks. in gothenburg.

it has been a hectic ride, i’ve gone from confusion to excitement, boredom to being overwhelmed.with.new.experiences. meeting people wasn’t nearly as hard as i thought it was going to be, and everyone in class has so far been super nice. i’ve gotten the chance to meet up with some old friends as well and it has helped to make me feel right at home.

i am currently in the first week of my first project for our introductory course which seems to be more about following process than turning out an excellent end product. (more on that later) my project is a revitalization of the second cities project i had tried to get started about a year ago and i am very excited to get the ball rolling on it. i hope to have a project update in the near future. but as for now i just wanted to say that i am alive and well, missing annie back home but excited for what the future may bring.

that’s all for now.

after over 2 years of not owning any wheels at all, i finally decided that today was the day to take the plunge and buy a bicycle.

gothenburg is quite well covered with public transit (trams, busses, and ferries), but the flat land that it sits on has really gotten me excited about riding around here. part of that might come from the fact that when i studied abroad in japan some of my best memories are from riding around late at night and wandering through the town effortlessly, able to blend in with the locals and enjoy the freedom that a bicycle gives you. (in some ways, i think in my mind i am always trying to get back to the place that was ‘my japan’)

for the past couple years i have been interested in single peed / fixed-gear bikes, and as there is no time like the present, i found a used one on blocket.se (the swedish craigslist) and picked it up after viewing it later that day. and in a strange coincidence, the guy i bought the bike off of will also be teaching a class on semiotics in the programme at hdk. when i told him i was here to study in the ma design programme he said ‘jesus, i’m a teacher there!’.

unfortunately, today was a rainy day, but tomorrow should be better. i plan on riding out to cykelcity and picking up all the necessities – helmet, lock, pump, oils + lubes, patch kit, etc. – and getting out and about as much as possible in the days to come.