Not An Optimism Update

Okay, I crack. This will just be a regular-life update instead of an optimism update, because it's my third week away from home which is always the week I get really homesick, plus I feel a fibro-flare-up coming on.

I should actually be making lunch right now, because it's 2:30pm and being hungry makes me crankier. After this post.

I just got back from Oral French class. Disaster. Mainly because there were 50 or 60 people in the class, and there were three girls in my "small group" who immediately took over, did all the talking, decided what they were going to say during the presentation, didn't let anyone else get a word in edgewise, and the couple of times I was able to butt in and make a few suggestions, they just stared at me unsmilingly and immediately went back to what they were saying to each other. Think, basically, "worst group partners ever."

Intermediate 2 does seem to be my correct level for oral though; but I can't imagine I'll get very much out of it with only 1.5 hours of class per week and that many students. I came right home and signed up for a "tandem linguistique", which is a one-on-one language exchange with another person, via a website run by the university. Hopefully I can get something once or twice a week, with someone who knows what they're talking about and who can actually be helpful in teaching specifics of the language (a linguist, ideally).

That being said, my ability to understand lectures is fantastic; if I wasn't so horrified by my inability to express myself I'd be having the time of my life, academically. I think I might just audit the dry-as-bones, kindergarten-level intermediate 2 grammar and take the French linguistics class for credit. The grammar class has just enough important stuff that I feel like I should probably go, but I totally love linguistics and I miss doing it.

Part of my problem is that I'm generally a very articulate person, so I think that not being able to express myself exactly as I wish is possibly more frustrating for me than it is for most people.

Also, do you know how much work your triceps do every day? I didn't, until my left one decided to get insanely sore during practice last night. Wtf??

And judo will be cut down to twice a week, officially, because I'm going to start going to a choir on Thursday nights. They're putting on a Mozart Mass this weekend (which I will miss because I'll be in Zurich) so I assume (hope) they're pretty good. That's okay; I was already considering skipping out on Thursdays anyway because it's more beginner level and mainly just serves to tire me out for real practice on Friday.

Goal for .... eventually/soon: make it to the end of the full two hours of judo practice. I made it to an hour and a half last night, but that was with sitting out every other round of fighting. Doesn't count. Did better in my round with the sensei, though.

I'm giving an up-to-an-hour-long presentation in my British Revolutions class in one month, at the end of October, on the Irish rebellion of 1641. I am so screwed. I have one month to get comfortable enough speaking French that I can get over my extreme case of stage fright AND say something intelligent AND speak understandably to all the other students in the room. OMG OMG OMG OMG WIPEOUT 0_0

And to thank those of you who made it to the end of this crank-fest, I hope that the bizzare-ity of the next 50 seconds of your life will be upped significantly by watching this little video:



Not gonna lie, it just made my giggle, even after writing all that nonsense.