*dances a somewhat hesitant little dance because this is not, in fact, the end of the summer's task list*
tonight, we dine in hell. err, sorry, that was a tyler moment. tonight, we dine at socrate (a restaurant down the block from penrose gate). and then we meet our teachers & classmates @ a local expat bar called "captain's cabin" to imbibe some sweet, sweet beverages & watch as those who began the festivities much earlier in the day attempt to play darts.
the makings of a good night, i think.
however, while today marked the near-end of the program (tomorrow's closing program is the "real" end), most of our brains checked out much earlier. as in, by monday of this week my classmates were literally drawing (increasingly gory) comics on the white board while our teachers looked on, perhaps just as drained as were we. the creativity produced during this brain-dead phase of the program was actually quite surprising. for example:
unfortunately, this shot doesn't include the drawing of abe lincoln
decapitating a mystery man with a very large sword
i refrained from such artistic expressions, but don't be fooled. i found my own ways to "veg out," & they were no more constructive than white-board doodles. actually, they were probably much less constructive than such doodles: although i did manage some news-reading & thesis-researching, i spent a good chunk of the evening on tuesday perusing a site i discovered that day. this site, while educational & enriching in its own right, did not contribute to the process of learning arabic. i did, however, come away enlightened.
and what is this website of which i so enthusiastically speak? why, it's the lolcat bible! do click on the link, you will not be disappointed. ok, first, if you've never seen the inspiration for the lolcat bible, you must first visit http://icanhascheezburger.com/. not all of the captioned images on the site are hilarious but, my, are there some gems. you just have to be willing to hunt for 'em.
now, i'm not a cat person. and living @ AUB for the last month & a half has not, i repeat, NOT, converted me into a felinophile (yeah, i made that up). there are scores of cats roaming the campus here, breeding @ unprecedented (read: bunny-rabbit) rates despite the rumor that AUB invests a pretty penny in spaying/neutering its feline population. the unmistakable scent of cat urine pervades the humid air around unexpected corners, & you cannot eat a sandwich, or even sip a cool beverage, in peace -- the little mongrels are well practiced when it comes to begging. (luckily for me, i don't find the begging endearing in the least. i know they're fed every day & that's enough to alleviate any guilt i might've felt otherwise.)
but, despite my lack of interest in all things cat-related (minus tyler's aunt's cat, who is a god amongst cats & is aptly named apollo), i find lolcats really funny. and the lolcat bible? damn hilarious. as in, i stared at my computer screen for @ least an hour & a half on tuesday laughing to myself, out loud, like a creepy, creepy person you avoid on the street. in the process, i came the closest to getting an ab workout that i've been since i arrived, & i strengthened my bladder muscles to boot.
i'm no cat lover, but i do loves me some lolcats
would the lolcat bible be quite so funny if my brain hadn't decide to take a vacation, oh, perhaps weeks ago? would it be so unbelievably gut-splitting if i wasn't in arabic-language-overload & struggling to remember even my native language @ this point, struggling to convince myself that my IQ is, indeed, @ least in the double digits? maybe not. but, then again, maybe so. regardless, the fact that i spent so much precious time reading chapters like 1 corinthians 13, genesis 1, etc. in "lolcat speak" is probably illustrative of the fact that i needed a break. just as the writings on the wall, err, white board, are easily proof that i am not so alone in my semi-insanity as i might've otherwise thought.
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