Hello. Welcome to my website. It started while I was in Europe for a semester, and I've kept it up since then. I'm now at the University of Chicago Law School, living in Hyde Park, and the story continues. If you want to say hi or visit me, email cfloyd at uchicago dot edu.
"Life is nothing if not the sum of your anecdotes." -Scotty The Body, on storytelling "But it ain't that bad, man. Just figure out the system before the system figures out you." -T. Matthew Smith, on the 1L year "The beer just doesn't taste as good when you're not drinking it with your buddies." -Anon., on being away from good friends "Somebody has to pay the rent around here. Why the hell not us?" -Cotton, on studying for exams
3/05/2003
It's afternoon on Ash Wednesday here. I'm typing on a Bosnian keyboard, so when I type my name without looking it is spelled Flozd. That gets annoying when you're logging in with your name at various sites. Things are going quite well here. I should have an essay describing my flight and first 24 hours up soon, so watch for a link. Hopefully I'll be posting everyday from here on out. I've been computerless, and disoriented besides. Jet lag is real. It is not fake, as I had secretly suspected. There is no way to "tough it out." The annoying part is that I had just gotten on a nice sleeping schedulein Oklahoma. Oh well.
And thanks everybody that gave me tips on calling out. The calling cards are really inexpensive. And I'm thinking about getting a temporary mobile phone, known as a "Handy."
Yesterday Graz had its Fasching celebration for Mardi Gras. Everybody gathers in the inner part of the city wearing costumes, dancing, and consuming large quantities of beer. I was astonished to see this guy about my age pinballing down the street, drunk as a skunk--at four in the afternoon! I mean, we're talking OU football Gameday levels of consumption, but even more. You don't see fifty-year-olds walking down Lindsey Street swigging a bottle of vodka. Speaking of OU, when I show the Europeans pictures of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (no Gaylord for me, thanks), so far I have a 100% rate of jaw-droppage. They cannot believe that that stadium is in the middle of our campus and that it belongs to the University. But back to Fasching, I noticed it on the bus when some of the school children had painted faces. Later, when I went to the center of town, I saw all manner of costumes. I talked to one girl who said she was an Albanian for Fasching. I found that slightly odd--I mean, we don't dress as Mexicans for Halloween. I think. After dark everybody was drunk and dancing in the streets to music from several loudspeakers. Think Ferris Bueller's Day Off--the part when they all danced to Shake it Up Baby. You know that oldie "Hang on Sloopy"? That was the sort of music they played. Everybody sang along. Later on the group I was with went to a place called Latino's. I guess it was a pretty standard dance club. It wasn't like a rave or anything, just Latin music set to an electronic beat. And I found it hilarious. It was as though I were an Austrian who was at his first line-dance honky-tonk. The dancing was really funny--people just kind of jumping around, waving their arms and stuff. I nodded my head to the beat and watched. I'll want to practice my Euro-moves in the mirror before I get on the dance floor.
My classes start tomorrow but I still don't know everything I'm taking. I should know by the end of today. Check back later this evening--I'll post a list of my general observations from the first five days.
