A Rambling Moosac

...You only got one entry. Let's see if we can't do better for 2009.

I've decided to refrain from closing up shop on this rambling Moosac. It'd be too sad to not take advantage of such a great domain name, after all. Plus, I just stumbled across Jenn Babin's blog (http://jenwasherewashere.blogspot.com), for which the tagline reads, "Because I'm only a writer if someone is reading." Very true. As such, I've decided to even actively advertise these ramblings from now on.

Recognizing that for many of you, this could be your first visit to my site, here's an update of my life from my last post:

-Still graduated.
-No longer living in Evanston (though I work there from time to time)
-Working (interning) at Optimus, a post-production house in the city. AWESOME.
....

I'm won't lie, when I started that list I was expecting to have more to say. I would say it's depressing, but it's really not. I have no qualms with the fact my life is relatively boring right now. I mean, heck, if I work hard now, I can have an exciting life later when I have more money.

On the other hand, the American Medical Association (our apt.) threw its fourth party of the lease last night. By all accounts it was a rousing success - a result I'm attributing to the fact that, unlike our Christmas-Christmas-Hannukah party, we had quite a number of ladies who were in attendance. Good job with the invite, Alex.

But I can't ignore the real reason so many people came out last night - Matt Weir will be leaving us on Wednesday. Chicago won't be the same without him, and we wish him all the best as he heads off to New York City. But seriously, get the fuck out of here you piece of shit, and take winter with you.

Final thought: Countdown to Hawaii - 14 days. BOOM, BABY!

Posted by moosac at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SO - here's the deal. I figured that a big reason why I never updated this blog is because I was so busy with school. Well guess what, bitches....

I'M DONE!!! OH YEAH!!!

Seventeen years of formal education and all I have to show for it are these ramblings? Better step things up. Well we're moving on into the new millennium people (wait, what is this, 2001?) and I'ma outfit this blog with all kinds of technology!

There is one big problem, though. I don't know how to do that.

....yet.

And the guy who would have the answers is the one who has been paying the annual 6 buck fee for me to run this site. So the conundrum is - do I ask for his help, admit that (more or less) I've still been using the site, and pay the required TWELVE DOLLARS??? Or do I suck it up, channel the alpha male inside me, and try to figure it out myself? Hmm.... this could take a while.

Final thought: I always forget something when I leave the apartment. Luckily, I usually remember relatively soon after leaving (because I know I forget) . But even though it's rarely a problem, it's becoming increasingly annoying.

Posted by moosac at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

...I really don't want to do my homework.

So the work load isn't nearly what it is back at NU, but still I find it hard to bring myself to do even the simplest assignment. Seriously, I just have to write a couple pages about a movie we watched last week, but it's just so difficult to get motivated! Plus, the fact that Liza and Emily peer pressured me into having a glass of Don Simon isn't helping the case for homework.

So it just dawned on me that I should jot down a record of all the people on this trip (for posterity if nothing else). So here are some names and brief descriptions:

Me - Coolest.
Ronen - Roomate, brothers in Lambda Chi
Chris(UNC) - First guy I met after I got here. UNCer and creeper to the extreme.
Alex Ta(UNC) - Our resident little gay Asian boy. Can shotgun a beer with the rest of them, but the .5L beer cans were surprisingly difficult for him the first time around
Mark(BC) - Kinda reminds me of Kellen. Well, a gay Kellen. But just as funny. Likes to videotape him and others singing along with popular songs and then posting them on youtube. Funnier than it sounds.
Alex Stevko - Haven't hung out with him as much. Parents saw several of us in our collared shirts and boxers(the Chris Donahoe look) with glasses of wine. I figure it's a good story for them.
Charlie - Chris Danzig's twin. And he's had multiple people tell him this. Don't know as much about him or his roomate...
Kaan - From Turkey. Likes lifting weights and protein drinks apparently.
Emily Motley(UNC) - Dear Diary... and Wanna know a secret? Promise not to tell?? That's really all I can say for now.
Molly(UNC) - The two loves of her life: cereal and running.
Maura - Likes to stay out till 5:30am and yell at British guys.
Veronica - Really cool, reminds me of Chrissie Reitmeyer. More cynical than I think she lets on, and that makes me like her more.
Jessica - Goes out till the wee hours of the morning with Maura a lot. Art theory/Figuring out my life Major
Megan(WashU) - One of the Fashionistas. Though apparently I didn't know which group of girls it was that made up this demographic until recently. Goes to WashU, doesn't know Kelly though.
OTHER SIDE OF THE HALL (some of these people I know less)
Matt(UNC) - All the girls think he's really cute, but sadly for them, he's gay. Seems nice enough, but I don't know him too well.
Julia(Scripps) - One of the CA girls. Long legs and fabulous hair. Hangs out with Stephanie and Annie a lot. Loves to dance.
Kevin Block - Cynicism personified. Hilarious results.
Jack - Large man who often wears a shirt that reads on the back "Shut up and Drink your Beer!"
Lisa - Jack's main flame. I mean, it's pretty cute they decided to come to Prague together.
Amelia - Amelio, if you address her in Czech which makes me just think of Emilio Estevez.
Annie - Go Factors!
Ms. Jackie Hunzinger - JEDNA. Praha treasure. Babies with buckets on their heads. Peanut dances. Boycomehere.
Liza(UNC) - Ballerina, but she hates Julia Stiles in Save the Last Dance. The best at beguiling Harvard boys.
Stephanie(UNC) - The aptly named Stephanie Shorts. Getting cooler every time I talk to her.
Allison - Fashionista. Nebe's best DJ, and used to go out with Byrum.
Fitz - The final in the triumvirate of Fashionistas. In Theta with Allison. Plans to change her hair color even though she shouldn't.
KC(CA school) - Explored the Castle Quarter with Ronen and me when everybody else was out of town.
Sarah Neal(UNC) - Has two names. Don't know her as well.

And that's it. Wow, geez, I'd feel bad if I've left somebody out, but I think I got everyone. Oh well. Hardly any of them will read this anyway. So onto the exploits of the weekend...

With practically everyone out of town and my roommate sleeping till 5:30pm, I found time to do a little exploring. Once again I climbed Petřín Hill, and once again, it was amazing. I got lost several times and accidentally stumbled on a couple homeless caves. It was a little sad. There would just be a very shallow cave in a cliffside that would have mattresses in them and a lot of food wrappers. Part of me wanted to buy them sandwiches, but part of me didn't want to encourage the obvious evolution into hill-people.

After getting lost I found my way to the Castle quarter, which was great cause I hadn't been there yet. Prague Castle is truly gorgeous and it'll be great to go back there with Ms. Rifkin when she gets into town this weekend. In fact, I ended up going back there the next day with KC and Ronen (this time with my camera) and we ate dinner at Cowboys.

Wow. Cowboys is an American-style steakhouse that's right next to Prague Castle. It was ammmazing food. I had the Rib-eye steak in a red wine sauce with maple glazed carrots, mashed potatoes, and a glass of Pinot Noir. The three of us split a bottle of white wine before ordering dessert. I personally had a glass of sparkling white wine to accompany the cheesecake with chocolate sauce and strawberries. The main reason we had so much was because we wanted to stay until the sun went down. We got reservations and were able to get seats on their rooftop terrace that overlooks the entire city. The best part was that around 9:30, there were fireworks in the city that we had some of the best seats in town for. It made the meal certainly worth the sixty dollars I paid (Mom and Dad, don't pay attention to that).

I'm sure you're tired of reading all these ramblings so I'll cut it off here.

Max's Featured Video of the Day!

The baby's face cracks me up every time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pihygVBjAYU

Final thought: On Sunday night, I went to the 650th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of Charles Bridge. When was the last time you went to the 650th anniversary of anything?

Final final thought: Even though I know neither of you read this, and even though I've given you a lot of crap over the years, I offer the sincerest congratulations to Dan and Jessica on their marriage this past weekend. I'm mostly just sad Dan didn't ask PIE 3:14 to play.

Posted by moosac at 3:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

...hah, my ability to update my blog.

So here we are once again, and I find myself compelled to post another Moosac rambling mostly due to the fact that one of the guys in the program here in Prague boasting his two-post-a-day blog. Not that this is a competition or anything, and not that if it were I'd totally beat Chris Donahoe if I even tried just a little!!! It's not that at all. I just feel I owe to... myself, I guess. I don't think anybody reads this but me. Even so, I'd like to one day look back at these posts and remember my fond time in Prague.

The students here that are in the history class are required to keep a journal of their experience here, and I've heard a number of them say things like "Well, even if it weren't mandatory, I'd probably do it anyway, it'd just be harder to keep up with." I feel I do share their sentiment. However, being the illustrious film major that I am, it's not imperative that I do so, and as a result you all have to put up with my (maybe) two posts a week.

And for all those people back in the states to whom I missed the chance to give Independence Day wishes, I hope you had a happy Fourth of July! Though that might sound strange coming from me, perhaps one of the least patriotic Americans. Just last night, I deliberately chose to sit in my room listening to music while a chorus of students in the kitchen started a ...beautiful... rendition of the American national anthem. Thinking about it, however, a lack of patriotism might not have been the only thing keeping me in my seat at that moment thanking the good Lord for headphones.

For today, however, the only task I must endure is finding a hostel/hotel in Paris. I hope to fly there the last weekend of the program to visit my good friend Jules who is studying there for the summer. I found a relatively cheap flight, which was nice, but in looking at Paris hostels, it became evident that (much more so than in America) there is a very direct, very dramatic correlation between the cost of a hostel and the apparent quality of the stay. Most of the ones I could find in my price range ran quite the gamut of failings. Whether it was a failure to provide linens (thus requiring me to go out and buy bedsheets that I would use only once), or a lack of indoor WC + shower facilities. Needless to say, it wasn't long before my search turned into one leading to hotel websites instead. It's a little more expensive, but I'd pay the price for a little cleanliness.

The weekend ahead will be filled with what I'm sure will be exciting adventures into Prague and attempts to cook in our less-than-adequate kitchen. I'll do my best to keep you posted.

Final thought: Left behind bobby pins and hair ties are not good for keeping my ego in check.

Posted by moosac at 9:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

...and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

So I had one of the more amazing experiences in my life this morning. I woke up at 8 despite having stayed out at Dog's till about 1:30. The sun had come out, and there was a big truck in the alley right below our window fixing shingles on a roof across the street. I could get used to this waking up early thing, though. It was nice to still be able to catch breakfast downstairs while they had it, and even though I ended up eating by myself (a lot of people in our group went out to a club in Old Town after drinking at Dogs), it was nice.

Since Ronen (the roommate, one of those who went out) was still asleep when I got back upstairs, I decided to just go for a walk. There's a big hill across the National Street bridge pretty close to our dorm and I had been wanting to go up there and explore since I got here. So I grabbed my bag, my camera, and my iPod, and set out.

I was surprised at the low number of people who were out even though it was by this point already 9 or so. But I continued on over the bridge and found my way to the bottom of the giant hill. Now, when I say hill, we're talking about a MOUNTAIN of a hill. This thing is huge. I start my climb, and not 10 minutes into it, I catch what will be the first of many breathtaking views of Prague. I quickly get my camera out of my bag and snap my first photo:

....hmm... I can't seem to get the photo to work. Well damn. Ok, I'm gonna go figure this out and finish this post probably later today.

Final thought: to be continued.................

Posted by moosac at 3:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

...that's right, Prague! Although Jitka, one of the CA's told us not to try absinthe because it's not very good. Apparently (and I don't think the US government knows this or else they wouldn't make absinthe illegal....but who are we kidding, what do they know anyway), the hallucinogenic herb that is responsible for the drink's popularity is no longer put in! I know, right? Of course, feeling bad for crushing our American hopes and dreams of flying with the green fairy, Jitka then told us about several other great drinks that we should try while we're here. They included Czech brands of vodka and rum, a drink called the B-52 (because after three of them you feel like you're in a plane that's crashing?), and a certain drink that is half red wine/half coke. This last one was particularly of interest to me because those of you who know me well know that I LOVE wine.

But anyway, Prague is pretty amazing. All the buildings here are old and you can't help but sit, looking out from your window sill and be taken back to the 1930's. With all the red shingled rooftops and cobblestone streets, it's really quite beautiful.

The language, though extremely badass, is very difficult. We had a rather intense introductory session yesterday morning for those students not taking a Czech class while they're here (I, of course, am taking the class because I really want to do my best to master this language as best as I can in 6 weeks). There's one letter that sounds like a very short rolled "r" combined with a "zh." .... apparently it takes Czech children 6 years to get right.

But on to the good stuff. I'm instating a new feature here at the Moosac. It's Max's Featured Videos of the Day! I've really gotten into youtube and collegehumor.com and subsequently found several great videos that everybody should see for they're own benefit. And since this is the inaugural posting, I'm going to post two - that's right - TWO videos you should watch. So without further ado...

Max's Featured Videos of the Day!!
Video 1 - Ad for a new line of energy drinks
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1761896

Video 2 - The tagline for this video is "The best five second video on the Internet." They may in fact be right.
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1764124

Ok, I hope those work. If there's a problem, I'll get it fixed because I like this section.

Final thought: WHY THE HELL DO I CARE????? Yep. That's it.

Posted by moosac at 3:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

...but damn, I hurt myself a lot. The latest chapter in any cuts, scrapes, bruises, or other general injuries I've incurred took place earlier today. I was striking the set for the film I worked on this weekend, taking down flats, unscrewing platforms, etc. So anyway, I kneel down on one platform to remove one of its legs, and my knee comes down onto an industrial staple that was poking out.

Obviously I stood up immediately to assess what the hell had happened, and almost as quickly, blood started gushing out my knee. And I know it sounds like an exaggeration when I say "gushing," but this was actually pretty close. Only later did I realize why there was so much blood. It's the can-opener effect. Stick with me. You know when you have a large can of, let's say, tomato sauce? You poke holes on either side of the top of the can so it pours out more easily. Now think of my knee as a can of tomato sauce... a staple would inflict two wounds... I think you get the picture.

So like I said, I'm bleeding fairly profusely from what I had assumed (based on the pain I was feeling) was not a very big wound. So I'm a little confused. And as I hobble out of the studio, the blood continues to run down my leg, so now it looks like I've hurt myself REAL bad. I was, in fact, bleeding so much, that there was a pretty constant stream that had reached my ankle sock, which was now soaking up any excess. Now I'm in the bathroom of Louis Hall, my leg up on the sink, and I'm wiping away blood from a wound that is annoyingly persistent.

I grab some paper towels and apply pressure so that I can make my way over to the security guard to ask if he has a first aid kit of any kind. He doesn't. I limp over to the WNUR DJs. They have nothing as well. So, realizing I need to continue the pressure on my knee in order to stop the bleeding, I walk back into the studio, a man with a mission. In true film major fashion, I grab a roll of gaff tape, and wrap it around the paper towel covering my knee so that it stays in place.

Fifteen minutes go by, and it appears that my make-shift bandage is working. I excuse myself to the bathroom to redress my wound. I remove the tape - HOLYMOTHEROFGODOUCH - and much to my surprise, not only has the bleeding completely stopped, but there are only two very small puncture wounds. I say I was surprised because if you had seen the blood covering my leg, you would have assumed there'd be a really cool scar to match. Nope. Not the case. Apparently I just bleed a lot.

And that's what I did today.

Final thought: The latest episode of The Office, in my opinion, wasn't as good as others. But maybe that's because it looks like Jim and Pam are drifting apart, and I really want them to get together. If you care to comment, do you think the show will/can make a third season?

Posted by moosac at 4:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)