Back from vacation! I have Things to say, about Amsterdam, about Seville. Now that I have promised this, though, I will probably never get around to saying them. :p Maybe I'll put the pictures up as an album on G+ at some point.
Short version: Amsterdam was cold and wet and expensive, but the museums were excellent and I got pretty alarmingly high on whatever it was Mike was sharing, lol, at which point I 1) became really fascinated by lights that were International Klein Blue, 2) realized that everything in Amsterdam that was not-fun and shitty, like the chain fast food restaurants and gaudy Christmas lights, specifically appeals to people who are high, 3) wondered if this was why we have so many chain restaurants in the USA, 4) wondered why pot is not legal in the USA, because it allows you to be okay with terrible shitty boring things, since even getting to the end of a thought brings that "I did a something awesome!" feeling of accomplishment, 5) became convinced that whenever I'd seen Mike around the campus in a strange mood, he'd been high ("No, but I was probably drunk"), 6) became convinced that many famous US celebrities are often high in their TV appearances, 7) felt good about everything, despite also feeling like I was being ignored like in middle school.
That was the first time (psychedelic/paranoid). The second time, I thought I could read everyone's minds, that I had a glow around my head making me especially charismatic and attractive, and (after I realized I'd been so busy thinking about how awesome I was that the conversation had moved on without me) thought I had a special insight into how various historical figures and members of bands must feel.
What I take away from this is that my worst fear is apparently to be socially snubbed, and my greatest desire is apparently to know what other people are thinking. >_> Oh, and I also felt a bit guilty - even at the time! - because Mike and his friend were at peace with universe, and meanwhile I was thinking about how much better I was than them. Ahaha...
I will say, before this starts to look like a reefer madness advert: none of the regular stuff in the cafes, or the brownies, or anything I might or might not have smoked before, made me feel this way. Just the colors thing, that was all. You hear that in Amsterdam it is stronger, and I guess that is right!
***
The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam was very moving, by the way: you know, you think that compared to others they didn't have it so bad, because they had an entire two floors to themselves and Anne even (almost) had her own bedroom, but then you go up there and you see the windows boarded up, and you realize that this sixteen year old girl lived without seeing the sunlight for two years. Not to mention the stuff that happened afterward. It was really, very sad, and I left feeling a bit calmer
...because I'd left my bag with a my passport in it in a shop, and had been walking around for hours trying to find the shop again, only to eventually end up right back where I started at the museum, at which point I said fuck it, paid my fee and went in. Afterwards I felt like my petty problems weren't so bad. ^^ And after that I was able to find the shop where they still had my bag, so all's well that ends well. (It wouldn't be a Sonya-vacation story if there wasn't a narrowly-averted disaster, naturally!)
Here's a video from Seville, Spain: this really was, honestly, the best Christmas of my life.
In Seville there is also a big Cathedral that looks, no joke, exactly like the Castle in Ico. That picture isn't retouched! Same light and everything. I am convinced there is a direct link. :p I took a lot of pictures of this place to prove that it is a direct inspiration, so look for those later.
Next up: Kpop!
Short version: Amsterdam was cold and wet and expensive, but the museums were excellent and I got pretty alarmingly high on whatever it was Mike was sharing, lol, at which point I 1) became really fascinated by lights that were International Klein Blue, 2) realized that everything in Amsterdam that was not-fun and shitty, like the chain fast food restaurants and gaudy Christmas lights, specifically appeals to people who are high, 3) wondered if this was why we have so many chain restaurants in the USA, 4) wondered why pot is not legal in the USA, because it allows you to be okay with terrible shitty boring things, since even getting to the end of a thought brings that "I did a something awesome!" feeling of accomplishment, 5) became convinced that whenever I'd seen Mike around the campus in a strange mood, he'd been high ("No, but I was probably drunk"), 6) became convinced that many famous US celebrities are often high in their TV appearances, 7) felt good about everything, despite also feeling like I was being ignored like in middle school.
That was the first time (psychedelic/paranoid). The second time, I thought I could read everyone's minds, that I had a glow around my head making me especially charismatic and attractive, and (after I realized I'd been so busy thinking about how awesome I was that the conversation had moved on without me) thought I had a special insight into how various historical figures and members of bands must feel.
What I take away from this is that my worst fear is apparently to be socially snubbed, and my greatest desire is apparently to know what other people are thinking. >_> Oh, and I also felt a bit guilty - even at the time! - because Mike and his friend were at peace with universe, and meanwhile I was thinking about how much better I was than them. Ahaha...
I will say, before this starts to look like a reefer madness advert: none of the regular stuff in the cafes, or the brownies, or anything I might or might not have smoked before, made me feel this way. Just the colors thing, that was all. You hear that in Amsterdam it is stronger, and I guess that is right!
***
The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam was very moving, by the way: you know, you think that compared to others they didn't have it so bad, because they had an entire two floors to themselves and Anne even (almost) had her own bedroom, but then you go up there and you see the windows boarded up, and you realize that this sixteen year old girl lived without seeing the sunlight for two years. Not to mention the stuff that happened afterward. It was really, very sad, and I left feeling a bit calmer
...because I'd left my bag with a my passport in it in a shop, and had been walking around for hours trying to find the shop again, only to eventually end up right back where I started at the museum, at which point I said fuck it, paid my fee and went in. Afterwards I felt like my petty problems weren't so bad. ^^ And after that I was able to find the shop where they still had my bag, so all's well that ends well. (It wouldn't be a Sonya-vacation story if there wasn't a narrowly-averted disaster, naturally!)
Here's a video from Seville, Spain: this really was, honestly, the best Christmas of my life.
In Seville there is also a big Cathedral that looks, no joke, exactly like the Castle in Ico. That picture isn't retouched! Same light and everything. I am convinced there is a direct link. :p I took a lot of pictures of this place to prove that it is a direct inspiration, so look for those later.
Next up: Kpop!