Smurftastic's EuroTrip: It's So Hard to Say Goodbye

1:36 pm: Somewhere over the Atlantic, near Halifax, Nova Scotia

Finally on the way home from the long ordeal-slash-extensive awesomeness that was my trip to Europe for summer 2007. Yes, thought I’d stick with the Boyz II Men theme.

Basic point:

1) Rome is AWESOME. I can’t wait to go back.
2) Penis boxer/biker shorts may seem inappropriate at first, but are both rather comfortable and hilarious. Especially when your mom buys them for you. EEEEWWW.

So now to the real bulk of this entry (cause I’ve been going a bit overboard, I know)… but I just re-watched 3 episodes of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and the finale for the first time. Wow. I have officially just made a personal vow to myself that I will watch any Aaron Sorkin produced show for at least one season. In addition, Bradley Whitford is a fantastic actor, and I’ll pretty much see anything with him in it as well. It took me a while to get over the hump of him being the weasel guy in Billy Madison… but this show basically did it for me. Also, if the season comes out on DVD (which I’m sure it will)… here is my official request for someone to get it for me for Christmas. I LOVE THIS SHOW… also loved the casual “Friends” interjection at the end, Matthew Perry/Chandler Bing… I LOVE YOU!

The final 4 episodes seemed to my untrained (but entertainment business addicted) eyes to be filled with many possible Emmy nods. For example:

Best Actor:
Bradley Whitford
Matthew Perry (? – as a loyal Chandler Bing fan, I do have to say he was amazing, but *ouch*, not quite as gripping as Whitford)

Best Supporting Actor:
Steven Weber
Timothy Busfield
D.L. Hughley (can’t believe I just typed that… remember the Hughleys??? Neither does anyone else.)
Nathan Corddry

Best Writing

Best Producer

Best Dramatic Series

Best New Series

OK, in short (well, not so short) this was a great show and it’s too bad it won’t be on anymore. Seriously, I know I’ve been raving about a show that not very many people watched, and that is no longer going to be on in new episodes, but seriously, I highly recommend anyone who likes smart television that isn’t too heavy but also not slapstick or cheesy to check it out. That should be everyone, cause this show was the shit. That is all. I am 1 hour and 40 minutes from Newark, and can’t wait to get home to normalcy.

This normalcy will involve drinking lots of tap water, skim milk, and eating blue box mac and cheese. Easy to please, I am. PEACE!

Smurftastic's EuroTrip... We've Come To the End of the Road

Dublin Airport 11:04 am

Yeah, that’s right. I busted out a Boyz II Men song title. Don’t hate the player… hate the game (and check back to the BBCS and relive some memories). Anyway, really have come to the end of the road. I’m chillaxin’ in the beautiful Dublin airport, after a great 3 weeks in Galway. I highly recommend it as a vacation spot. Perhaps not for a full 3 weeks if you aren’t taking classes, but definitely for a while. There’s a lot to see and a lot to drink. Here are some things I’ve learned about Ireland.

Irish people LOVE to tell stories and/or just listen to themselves talk. Even me… Chatty McCathy… couldn’t get a word in edgewise the past few nights. I found a great little DOMB (Dirty Old Man Bar – Pia’s in Champaign… I’m lookin’ at you here), and these old Irish men love me… basically cause I’m the youngest female in the bar by at least 20 years. But pretty much they just like to tell me about random crap such as the last time they were in the Dublin airport and had to dump out their water bottle. Good times.

Irish accents are a lot harder to understand than I thought they would be. I felt very rude making people say stuff two or three times, but whatever. They mock me for my Chicago A’s, so they can say stuff more than once for me.

The American Dollar is awesome – stuff at home is going to be so cheap. If I had any money left in my life at all… I would look forward to shopping/eating/drinking in Manhattan.

I always get shafted when it comes to nicknames. I never end up with random awesome nicknames. This trip gave us such golden names for others as “Lilly” (for a boy), “Boo!yah”, “Stinky/Little Britches”, and “El Heffe.” What do I get? Gail. Seriously. Or BigGail. Even better. Makes me really appreciate some of the more original names I got in college (ahem…Smurf…ahem). Come on law school-ers… lets get creative.

Sheep in Ireland are speedy. Also, they do NOT appear to like being chased. Yeah they are everywhere, in the streets, running free, whatever. If you are going to make yourself available, I WILL chase you and try to take a picture giving you a hug. Don’t baaaaa at me. If you just waited for 10 seconds while I took a picture, maybe I wouldn’t need to chase you. Quit being so insensitive. And now I don’t have a sheep picture with me in it. Just of you running away.. A-holes.

Even in the rain, Ireland is still fabulous – some of our tours were completely water-logged, and while a lot of people on the trip hated it… whatever… its still Ireland and that’s better than pretty much anything the US has to offer. However, if you go to Galway ever, I would not recommend doing both the Aran Islands AND the Burren unless you have loads of time. One or the other is probably OK. Rocks and rock walls and rock forts by cliffs are basically the same anywhere.

Irish guys are hot – but I knew that already. Sometimes things just need to be reiterated.

Severe Mayo obsession alert – seriously. It’s on EVERYTHING. I mean I know I don’t like mayo anyway… but seriously… don’t you get sick of the stuff? Just like cream or butter is on everything. Are there no lactose intolerant people in Europe? Maybe there were, but they all were killed by milk and cheese… or run down by sheep trying to escape tourists (my bad).

Everyone in Ireland hates Dublin, except people from Dublin… it’s a lot like the way a lot of Americans feel about NYC or LA, or the way quite a few Canadians feel about Toronto… but it appears to be justified.

There is a lack of karaoke and cigars in Galway – all I wanted was a nice Cuban and to sing Johnny Cash… is that too much to ask?

White horse rumors are silly – our bus driver on the way into Galway told us that if you see 7 white horses while you are in Galway, you will end up marrying someone from Galway. Well … including the 2 white horses that lived on the grounds where our dorms were (do you think they were trying to tell me something?)… I saw 15 white horses without looking too hard… and I didn’t meet any guys from Galway, but met a Canadian. Hmmmm…

Anyway, it’s been real, all…but I need to head home to DJ Victorious. She misses our reality show blogs. And who wouldn’t. Here’s a creeptastic taste of the UK though… they have a real time live Big Brother. It’s seriously on EVERY TIME I turn on the TV. I think it has its own channel. Seriously? Do I need to watch them sleep? Apparently. Oh also, they still have Maury. Only here I watched it with breakfast, and it made me happy and was a great start to the day.

I’m heading to Rome for 3 days with the family (come on Grandma slipping me cash…) then back to the Jers for a super hott American summer. Keep those fingers crossed for good movies on the plane so you don’t have to read another super interesting rant about it.

Random thoughts about the goings on in the world.

Looking like its going to be another Federer-Nadal Wimbledon final. BORING. I mean I love Federer, but let’s have some new people. *cough* Andy “The Choker” Roddick *cough*. Also, there is only so much male Capri pant a girl can take, and spending a month in Europe already is not boding well for Nadal.
Also… Venus Williams’ tennis outfits are inappropriate. I have boy cut underwear that covers more of my ass than her shorts. This ain’t the US Open. Keep it classy. Also… I love Johnny Mac. Yes… I knew that already… but his Wimbledon BBC commentary is amazing. Also, I miss Andre Agassi.

Studio 60 is officially cancelled. I already bought the final episode on iTunes, but I’m saving it for a very special occasion where I can bitch /weep openly. I need a Chandler Bing fix… so let’s get him a new show ASAP. Maybe I should just hire him to live in my apartment and be funny. I bet he’d do it for free blue box mac & cheese and 15 bucks a month, right? Who wouldn’t.

Smurftastic's Eurotrip... Made it to Ireland and some social commentary

What up all!

Sorry its been so long since my last update. Nothing super exciting and/or hilarious has really happened since I've gotten to Galway. So I have dubbed this entry my "snobby American bitchy entry." I hate when people on vacation bitch about how things aren't like at home. No shit, you're on vacation. WTF did you expect? Anyway, there is a lot of bitch worthy things here, so I'm allowing myself to embrace them.

1) The place we are staying is pretty terrible. What was promised as free internet access is in fact 10 Euro a week. And crappy internet access at that. Similarly, the rooms are super moldy like 40 year old dorm rooms, and people (yours truly) are starting to get sick. For almost 50 Euro a night... clean the ventilation. In addition... Galway currently is under a boil water requirement for some bacteria or something, so I'm paying extra bank for bottled water and boiling like its my job. Whatevs... not a huge deal, cept we can't make ice in the apt or do dishes w/ out boiling first... BOO erns. Probably more bitching about this place could happen, but I ended up w/ a giant room, so whatever.

2) I hate the exchange rate. In Leuven, it was bad, but we were paying like 1 Euro 80 cents for a beer... fine. Here, we pay around 4 Euro. That shit is pricey!!!! Plus food costs a ton... so I have to cook for myself... BOO.

3) Galway bars close early except on Friday or Saturday. That's actually probably a good idea, so I shouldn't bitch about that.

4) The weather is terrible. Today was the first day in a week and a half it didn't rain. The high was a very warm 52 Fahrenheit. Get excited. I've had to buy even more random Ireland clothes than I intended just to keep warm.

5) Air Lingus sucks ass. I don't even want to go into the horrors of our 6 am Brussels airport experience. Just steer clear.

6) You can't call them Irish Carbombs. I generally frown on being socially appropriate, and don't know the other name for them, so this is an issue.

7) I have outside of class homework here. Although yesterday, my professor actually talked for a few minutes on the economics of the "bling market"...

*) In order to move on from my bitchy Americanness... here is what is awesome about here...
accents, Guinness, cute boys, beautiful views, the fact that it is not America, the fact that its not hot as balls, Fish and Chips, the fact that there is a show called "Badly Dubbed Porn", and its exactly what you think it would be and its amazingly hilarious, etc....

I am actually having a great time, and behaving myself WAY more than I would have expected... I think it's cause I'm with some great people who I can have fun with sober or not. However, being the only single chick in a city w/ really hot guys is awkward for three reasons... First, some people want to live vicariously through you, Second, lack of real wingmen, and Third, people watch you like a hawk at all times. Boo.

Anyway, that was boring... here are some of my thoughts on pop culture events of the past week or so.

1) Paris is out of jail. What the fuck ever.

2) Tank Johnson got dropped from the Bears for being an embarrassment. I see the rationale behind this, however I don't want him to bust a cap in Urlacher or Sexy Rexy's ass. We should be trying to be friends w/ the guy w/ all the weapons, not firing him. Also, I need a new thug to mock this football season. COME ON CHICAGO!

3) Theirry Henry has been transferred from Arsenal to Barcelona. Not that I blame him, but there are two reasons I am sad. First, I love Arsenal, they are the shit, and won't be as good w/out him. Second, I was just in Barcelona, and may have purchased some sort of Barca memorabilia if I had known that one of my favorite players was headed there. I don't know how I'll be able to watch Arsenal w/out Henry. It'll be like watching Man U without Beckham for the first time, except Arsenal is not one of the two anti-Christs of British soccer and I actually watch them and care about how they do.

4) Rumors (and pretty substantial ones) are saying that Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is officially cancelled, and the last episode will air this Thursday. This is garbage. I hardly ever let myself watch new TV shows, and I absolutely fell in love with this one. To the point where when I'm abroad I bought the last 4 episodes on ITunes just to be able to see them. I hate the ratings and how stupid America is when a show is too smart to make it on the air. GOD FORBID. Anyway, ya'll should check out the DVDs of it when they inevitably come out, and/or reruns... I like that show for the same reasons poly sci majors hearted the West Wing... entertainment, smart, funny... It will be sorely missed.

5) Movies I cannot wait to see - LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD... we are probably going to go on the 4th of July in Ireland, whilst wearing shirts and singing "America, Fuck Yeah!"... Also... Harry Potter mania is setting in, but I'm trying to resist till I get home... GOOD LUCK.

More updates later, hopefully with some funny stories.... LATAZ.

Smurftastic's EuroTrip... Final thoughts on Belgium

Leuven, Belgium 4:36 pm

OK... sorry I haven't been updating as much as you people have been requesting, but I'm making a solid effort at enjoying this country, and not just blogging about it (although I heart blogging too). First things first, get some business done. For those of you who don't know... I live in a little town called Springfield, IL. And the Simpson's movie comes out at the end of July. Apparently they are doing some competition among the different Springfields in the US, and the winner gets to host the premiere of the movie. Good times. Anyone who cares... or wants to hear me brag for a while, check out http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/simpsons-contest.htm, and you can support the IL at http://www.springfield.il.us/... GO SPRINGFIELD (wow... for a town I really don't like that much... its quite a lot for me to say that). Another movie review - the study abroad kids and I went to see Oceans 13 one night this week. THUMBS UP... I would highly recommend it. Not as good as the first one (of course), but infinitely better than Oceans 12... god that movie sucked. Also, I love George Clooney. Laying it out there. He's a silver fox.

OK... Belgium... Here are some important things I learned while staying in Leuven.

1.) The alcohol content of beer actually makes a difference. Never thought I'd get a buzz from 2 beers... but it is possible. Also, I had a beer last night that is over 10% alcohol by volume. Holy crap. After a while it started to feel like I was just sippin' on some hard liquor. Good though. Only had one, or I would not be able to type right now.
2.) Ice Cream is fabulous - The ice cream in this country is like 200 times better than any in the states. I think it has something to do w/ the fact that they don't stuff their cows full of chemicals. Just try it, its amazing
3.) Coke Light is not as good as Diet Coke - sorry, Europe, you don't lose much, but you lose this one.
4.) European coffee will knock you on your ass - that shit is STRONG... drinking it to make up for the less caffeine in Coke Light is bad idea jeans
5.) The American system of tipping is a good idea. I enjoy that I don't have to tip people, but I don't enjoy waiting for 20 minutes for the guy to walk by so I can get my check.
6.) European men like to creepily stare at American girls when we dance. Last night after girls night festivities when we met up with the boys on the trip, we went to a dancey type bar. Not even slick about the staring. Like if you're going to watch us... at least look away when we glance at you... its just common courtesy I think.
7.) Seton Hall is better than LeHigh - so.... last entry you all heard about the sluttily dressed LeHigh girls and how I out beer bonged them. 2 days after that, this lady in our group complained to their chaperone about how she always gets woken up when they come home drunk from the bars at 3am... valid point I'd say, but whatever quit bitching. Now the LeHigh kids hate us... and aren't any more quiet. They pretty much like scream about loud we are instead. It's fun. But we befriended some of the Irish students who work here, and they say that the LeHigh kids pee everywhere. In their beds, in the courtyard, in the hallway, on the walls. Classy. They also have lost so many keys in their drunkeness that they must leave shoes in their door to keep them open (big ups to roomie Laura who came in one night and just kicked the shoe out of the way... LeHigh sucks) -and when we left our keys in the room, there were NO extra keys left. I bet their parents are really proud.
8.) People take their dogs everywhere - in the bars, in stores... whatever. It's pretty awesome. I wish I lived here
9.) Americans are stupid - nothing makes you feel more terrible than when you are in a foreign country with 3 official languages (which probably most of them speak at least 2 of)... and everyone is also fluent in English. WTF. American kids should be taught another language from like birth.
10.) The EU may or may not be pointless - sure I like the Euro and the free market and all that crap, but seriously, we have spent almost 2 weeks learning about their governing process. They have this commission that makes all the rules and hands them to the member states, not elected, but whatever. Then they have the European Council, which is the ministers of each country... fine there too. Then they have this Parliament thing. This is what I don't get. Like 750 elected representatives. They have no power... NONE. I wanted to ask the representative we met "What is the point?" She's like, the commission comes to us for opinions, but they don't have to follow them. We can bring up amendments, but they'll tell us which ones they won't pass, so we don't even bother. Great. Glad to hear it. And there's a problem passing a European constitution???? You don't say!

Otherwise, Belgium is pretty much the shit and a half. We went out for a girls night dinner and a few drinks before meeting up with the boys... Turned into a pretty fantastic time. Flying out to Ireland tomorrow... getting pretty excited. Cept instead of leaving at 3 which was the plan, because of the Belgian obsession with striking, we have to go to a different airport and leave at 6... plus only fly into Dublin and have a 4 hour bus ride. I need to do homework, though, so no big deal.

Speaking of homework... BOOO seton hall law bookstore. I ordered a textbook 8 days ago, and requested express shipping. Didn't come, so I called the bookstore to see when it was shipping... the chick is like "Oh I don't even have it packed!" Thanks assface. Now I have to borrow someones book for the first few days and get it sent to Ireland. Whatever.

Ok, this entry pretty much sucked... my bad. Lots of fun stories from Ireland I'm sure. We're planning a 4th of July party, so we can be the sexy annoying Americans at the pubs. They'll LOVE us I bet!

Smurftastic's EuroTrip ... Part Deux

1:29 AM. Leuven, Belgium

First of all, blog readers…. This town… is AMAZING. I thought it was going to be a small, quiet town, but it is like the Champaign-Urbana of Europe. They have 30,000 students, and that doesn’t count all the foreign universities here, and the town has only 120,000, including the students… If they had a Memorial Stadium, I would freak out. They have a sports complex w/in 3 blocks, which I plan on visiting, though, and I’ll keep you posted. So, in short, visit Leuven, Belgium if you ever have the chance. It’s FANTASTIC. And I’ve only been here for a day.

They have what they call “The largest bar in Belgium/Europe”… which is basically the town square and a giant beer garden. And if you know me, you know my beer garden obsession. We went for a few drinks tonight, and I didn’t get out of control or anything, but I had a fantastic time. There are LeHigh undergrads staying in the same complex as we are, and the girls seem pretty OOC (out of control). We saw them leaving at like 7:30 in like slutty cocktail dresses and heels. PS – This is a beer garden place, not a club place! Oh well, to each her own. While we were all waiting to meet up to go out, the girls still getting ready were making fun of the law students cause they thought we were staring at them. Perhaps they should stop ghetto blasting Fergie. Just a thought.

Anyway, we ended up inside at bar #2 of the evening cause it was cold, and slutty LeHigh girls coming in and out. Then….. some of my girls on the trip (who are FANTASTIC, btw), come in from outside to tell me that a LeHigh girl was doing a beer bong. Far be it for me to pass up a perceived challenge, so I tell the bartender to pour one for me (FYI, beer in Belgium is pretty cheap/reasonable). So he pours a beer bong… and I DOMINATE. Like dominate the girl outside, according to my friends who saw her do it. Then her friend comes in to try and do one… and she sucks. I also dominated her. But then cut myself off cause I have to learn tomorrow. Moral of the story… The University of Illinois is better than LeHigh, and Seton Hall Law students are both smarter and more responsible than LeHigh students.

Then I decided that since they were double beer bong kids I should at least say hi. Cause I don’t want to be a bitch. For 20 year olds, they are pretty nice. They invited us to predrink in their room for the next 10 days. You KNOW we will take advantage. I have to say, that I’m pretty proud of none of the law schoolers getting wasted or blacked out on the first day, I think it shows maturity. It will happen, cause the LeHigh girls were bragging about how they dance on the bar all the time. Just so everyone knows, my roommate is like an official trained dancer, so… we will end LIVES. Whatever. The main message to take away from this blog entry is that Belgium, particularly Leuven, is both beautiful and awesome. Please try to stop there at some point in your life.

Amusing pictures from the first day/night in Barcelona

So first of all... Maegan is awesome, cause she kept yelling at me to keep my purse closer to me, cause they'll swipe it. And then... at the second bar we were at in Barcelona, some dude came in, told us and the guys we were talking with to go speak to the bartender, while his friend swiped my purse right from next to me. Maegan recognized it was gone, went out to the street, chased the guy down, and punched him in the back, and he gave my purse back. She's amazing.

Also, we wandered Barcelona and took a boat tour and went to the top of the Columbus memorial. Beautiful. Eventually, pics will all be posted on my webshots site (http://community.webshots.com/user/blnd44illini)

However, here are two very important pictures that I took. First, of a random guy walking behind us in the old town. You may want to zoom in to look at his tattoos. That is NOT a speedo... and it IS a face w/ a large nose, if you know what I mean. CLASSY. At least when we spotted him, we understood why people kept running by us with cameras pointed the other way.

And then, a little girl on our boat tour who looked JUST LIKE Jonathan Lipnicki (the kid from Jerry Maguire.)

We named her Johanna Lipnicki.

Smurftastic's EuroTrip ... In Transit

6:51 am. Lisbon Airport.

I’m in Europe officially now for the next month, and I’ll try to rock some blog updates, although once I actually start having to learn things, it will be less often/exciting.

Just got off a relatively uneventful flight from Newark. Guy next to me was rather fat and hairy and kept hitting my hand off of the handrest, but whatever. One day when I’m rich, I’ll fly business class. A little angry at the movie choices. Wanted to watch Music and Lyrics to satisfy my inappropriate Hugh Grant obsession, but the sound wasn’t working for the first 10 minutes, so I ended up watching Catch and Release with Jennifer Garner, hoping that on the next go around, the other semi crappy romantic comedy would work. They only ran the movies you could choose once. Damn you Air Portugal. My only choice at that point was watching the Astronaut Farmer. No thanks… Billy Bob Thornton pre-dawn just seemed like a sub-par idea. But Catch and Release was less shitty than I thought it would be, considering Jennifer Garner usually bugs the crap out of me. If you like chick flicks, check it out. Otherwise, the funny Kevin Smith moments are too few and far between.

Also, when you fly from the US, it is rather unexpected that flight attendants will look at you like you’re stupid when you speak English. Luckily, I speak Portugese. Well, 2 words. “Fart” and “Gesundheit”. Thank YOU Renata, my foreign exchange student when I was 10.

Otherwise, my first official visit to Portugal has gone well. And for you people who think it doesn’t count cause I’m just in the airport, SUCK IT. I had to take a bus from the plane to the terminal. That counts. AND they stamped my passport. Special thanks to the person in the customs line who kept letting out some rank farts, and to the small children and family behind me who didn’t understand what respecting personal space was.

Already being exposed to the excessive smoking in Europe… the smoking section of the airport in Portugal is just a stand in the middle of a main walkway with ashtrays in it. I’m pretty sure I’m going to smell like a night out at the bars in Champaign for the majority of this trip, and I’m ok with that.

AND I have officially indulged in one of my favorite European treats. Fanta. Yes, orange Fanta. And before you tell me, I am fully aware that they have it in the states, but it is made differently in Europe, and much more delicious. I think it might have real juice in it or something. Or else just pure joy. I think I like it as much as DJ Victorious likes Shamrock Shakes. Man it’s delish. I may need to buy another before I get on the plane. Cept it cost 2.50 Euro. Stupid exchange rate. Anyway, Fanta is Fantabulous. I had a friend in high school who once ordered a case from Europe off the internet. It’s that good. If you ever get the chance, you MUST try some European Fanta. I may like it almost as much as Diet Coke (and for anyone who ever met me, that is a big deal). God, if it had caffeine in it, I could venture to say that I like it more than beer. Tough call. If it had alcohol AND caffeine, it would be a more delicious version of Sparxx. I should really work for Coca-Cola and tell them my excellent new drink ideas. The liquor-caffeine version of European Fanta will be called Fantabulous. Can you tell I’ve been on a plane for 6 hours with only 45 mins of sleep?

ANNNND I’m officially already pleased with my decision to bring my computer to Europe. Tetris and ITunes in an airport??? DONE and DONE.

Oh, one more random movie review: DJ Victorious and I went to see Knocked Up… Highly recommend. For guys, I’d call it a rental… but definitely worth a watch nonetheless. Ok, seriously, I’m playing Tetris now, cause the free internet doesn’t want to work with me. Peace out.